


Not the Skin Which Contains Me

by elfin (crazylittleelf)



Series: Pack [1]
Category: Fringe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Team Dynamics, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-23
Updated: 2012-02-23
Packaged: 2017-10-31 15:20:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/345626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazylittleelf/pseuds/elfin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The alt-team becomes werewolves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Id-fic, pure and simple. I wanted the alt-team as werewolves, so, here you go. Thanks to [](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**chichuri**](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/) for encouragement and brainstorming, especially regarding the science, and [](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/profile)[](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/)**kerithwyn** for beta reading.

"This is weird." Frank ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the dirty blond strands off his forehead. The agents milling around them were in field clothing or fatigues, with a few people in dark suits mixed in. He fidgeted with his Show-Me, rocking the card back and forth between his hands.

Olivia flicked her eyes over to him, a small, sly smile on her face. She had her backpack slung over one shoulder, rocking back on her heels as they waited at the security desk. "What is?"

Frank waved his hands around. "This. Going to work with you. It's weird."

Olivia grinned. "We need a virologist." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I understand you're pretty good at that."

"Yeah, but… isn't this some sort of conflict of interest or something?" He signed his name on the form the guard gave him and handed over his Show-Me.

"You worry too much." Olivia bumped her elbow into his side. "It's not like you're reporting to me or anything."

Frank snorted out a little laugh. "No, I'm reporting to Lincoln. That's much better."

"You and Lincoln get along great."

"When he's hanging out with us outside of work. Not…" Frank spread his hands and looked around the lobby of the Fringe Division headquarters. "Not here."

Olivia frowned. "Hey. It'll be okay."

The guard returned. "Here's your badge, Dr. Stanton. Please keep it visible at all times. Welcome to Fringe Division."

*****

The elevator deposited them in the open space that served as the Science Team's base of operations. Rows of desks flanked huge video screens and Looker workstations.

"Frank!" Lincoln crossed the room and shook Frank's hand, a toothy smile on his face. "Good to see you. You ever hear from that stripper from Long Island?"

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

Frank shook his head. "He's joking. Hello, Lincoln."

"Funny." She pointed at Lincoln. "You're funny."

Lincoln grinned back. "You know it."

Olivia looked around the office. "Hey, where's Charlie?"

"Dunno. Maybe the worms finally got him."

Frank frowned. "Worms?"

"They're not worms," Charlie said, walking up behind them. "Hey, Frank, you lost or something?"

"Frank is on loan from the CDC. We are not to break him and have to put him back when we're done." Lincoln winked at Frank.

"Listen up, people." The room fell quiet when Broyles strode in, voice booming in the open space of the office. "Assignment details are on your Pads. Science Team, be ready to move out in twenty."

Lincoln nodded. "Yes, sir."

Broyles crossed the room and extended his hand towards Frank. "Dr. Stanton, thank you for agreeing to work with us on this. Fringe Division's resources are at your disposal. Please let Captain Lee know if there's anything you need."

"Of course. Happy to help."

Broyles turned towards his office, then turned back to his team. "Watch each other's backs out there."

*****

Charlie leaned on the Tech station at the middle of the room. "So, what have we got?"

Olivia leaned close to Lincoln, her shoulder brushing against his. She peered at his Pad and wrinkled her nose at the image of the body. "I thought this was an infection."

Lincoln shifted so she could see better. "By all accounts, it is. The victim experienced a rapid onset of symptoms similar to the flu, followed by intense pain, then... that." He gestured towards the image.

Frank looked up from his own Pad and frowned slightly at Olivia and Lincoln, then said, "The physical transformation is similar to a few vortex events that I'm familiar with but it looks far more extensive. It doesn't look like any disease I'm familiar with. How long did this take?"

Lincoln nodded and handed Olivia his Pad. "Less than fifteen minutes from the time that the victim approached a group of workers. We've got the area locked down and The CDC team is testing the employees who came into contact with the victim. They just don't know what they testing for, or if this is even an outbreak. It could be some new kind of Fringe event."

Charlie frowned. "How does a Fringe event cause people to grow fur and fangs?"

Olivia looked up. "Maybe it's a dark moon. Has anyone checked?" She raised an eyebrow and gave Charlie a quick grin.

"Werewolves." His tone was dry. "We investigate werewolves now?"

"Okay, Astrid, pull up everything that the first responders found. Push it out to our Pads. Make sure you get the medical data to Dr. Stanton."

Astrid nodded, fingers flying over the surface of her workstation. "Yes, sir, Captain Lee."

Lincoln turned and pointed at Frank. "So you'll stay behind us and don't touch anything."

Frank stared at Lincoln, almost laughing. "I'm a CDC field operative. I know what I'm doing."

"Right. But I mean. You're a doctor." Lincoln frowned back at him.

"Look, how much experience to you have with disease vectors? You're not going to make things worse by spreading contagions, are you?"

Charlie grinned at Olivia. "This is fun. We should get together more often."

Lincoln tapped his earcuff and nodded after a moment. "Site's been secured and safed by the first responders." He grinned at them. "Show time."

*****  
A wide perimeter had been set up around the warehouse, employees and bystanders milling around the edge. An agent approached as they stepped out of the back of the van.

"Captain Lee. Sir, we have the site contained and anyone who might have had contact with the victim has been isolated. We've taken readings from all over the site. There's no indication of decreased gravity or molecular degradation, even in the area directly around the victim."

"Atmospheric levels?"

"All well within normal, Sir. No increases in radiation, either. Witnesses didn't report anything unusual before the victim became ill."

"Any ID on the vic yet?"

"No, Sir. All site employees have been accounted for. No Show-Me, and running identification protocol on him is proving difficult. The Lookers are working on it."

Lincoln glanced at Frank. "This one might be all yours after all."

"Great. Where's the body?"

The agent gestured to a cordoned-off area. "We're loading him up now for transport back to HQ."

"Gonna go have a look."

Lincoln nodded. "Take Charlie with you. Liv, go talk with the witnesses. I'll talk with the site manager and see if they handle any controlled substances, medical supplies, anything that the victim could have been exposed to on site."

"Right." Olivia nodded at Lincoln and flashed a quick smile towards Frank before she headed across the lot.

*****

"So you're my babysitter?"

Charlie grinned at Frank before saying, "I've had worse jobs."

The agents handling the body were in full HAZMAT suits, the yellow material of them glaringly bright in the hot sun. Frank pulled a toxicity meter from his field kit and tapped the little display to life. The screen stayed clear, chirping cheerfully when it was done with its scan. Frank waved an all-clear to the suited agents and they pulled their masks of gratefully.

"Like an oven in these damn things," one of them groused.

Frank gave him a sympathetic smile. "Take a break while I have a look at him."

"All yours."

Charlie looked down at the body. "Okay, I take that back about having had worse jobs."

The body was hunched, curled nearly into a fetal position on the stretcher. The limbs were distorted, ending in clawed hands. Coarse brown fur was scattered over the skin, sprouting from angry red welts. Bloody froth still flecked the long teeth that protruded from its mouth.

"Wow. This is amazing."

Charlie's voice was dry. "Really?"

"This isn't just superficial. I couldn't tell from the pictures. His skeletal structure has actually changed."

"So… what does that mean?" Charlie asked. "Is this a disease or a Fringe event?"

Frank shook his head. "No idea." He tossed a pair of gloves at Charlie. "Help me roll him over."

Charlie winced. "Do I have to?"

They got their hands under the body and rolled it carefully, keeping it on the stretcher.

Charlie blinked at the corpse. "What the hell is that?"

"I'm pretty sure that's a tail."

*****

Olivia nearly sighed out loud when she stepped into the office where the witnesses were being held. The air conditioning raised goosebumps on her skin. She nodded at the agent who was leaning against the wall. The three men in the room looked up at her, worried and expectant.

"Hi, I'm Agent Dunham with Fringe Division. I know you've talked with the first responder team, but could you tell me again what happened?"

Two men glanced at each other and the other stared at the table, fidgeting with the baseball cap he held loosely in his hands.

Olivia focused her attention on the third man and said softly. "Anything could be helpful."

He turned the hat over in his hands and looked up at her. "We knew the dude was sick when he came up to us. You could tell."

One of the others nodded. "His arms looked wrong and he wasn't walking so good. Kinda staggering."

"I thought… I don't know, maybe he'd been hit by one of the loaders or something, so I started walking towards him, but when I got up close… He fell down and he was shaking. Seizure, I guess."

Olivia said, "Yeah, something like that. Did you see where he came from? What direction?"

"He came around the east corner of building 23, but we didn't see him before that."

Olivia tapped the note down on her Pad. "What's in that direction?"

"Few more warehouses and some businesses, then it's houses."

"Okay, thank you. You've been very helpful."

The men looked up at her and the one with the hat said, "What's going to happen to us?"

"You'll need to have some testing done, just to be sure, but there's no indication that any of you are in any danger. Agent Greisler will arrange transportation for you to Boston General and we'll make sure you're all okay."

*****

The site supervisor was a heavily muscled blond man named Kline. He shook his head at Lincoln and said, "How does shit like this even happen?"

"You want the long explanation or the short one?"

He snorted. "Shit. I don't care what explanation you give me as long as it includes the phrase 'We aren't going to quarantine your business'."

"I don't think that's going to be necessary. Mr. Kline, we'll go over your shipping and storage manifests, but is there anything you can think of that might be stored here that would be dangerous? Do you handle any unusual chemicals?"

"Nothing unusual. Industrial cleaners, mostly. I mean, they're dangerous, but in a hideous burns sort of way, not… that. The fuck happened to that guy?"

"We're not sure yet," Lincoln said. "If you'll get the records transferred over to us, we'll get you cleared to resume operations as soon as possible."

*****

Olivia joined Lincoln at the spot where the victim collapsed. She shaded her eyes with her hand and looked towards the west. "The witnesses said that the victim was already… um, changing when he approached them. He was already sick. How far could he have gotten on foot?"

Charlie walked up and said, "Not far. Frank said the guy was a mess."

"Right. We'll need a search of the surrounding area." Lincoln called over his shoulder, "Danson?"

"Sir?"

"Get a search team on the ground. Work a half mile radius around where he was found."

"Yes, sir."

Charlie tapped up a map on his Pad. "Lots of residential. Take 'em a while to do the search."

"They're moving the body," Frank said from behind them. "I'll take a closer look at it when we get back to HQ."

Lincoln scratched his fingers through the stubble on his cheek and looked at Frank. "What do you think?"

"I don't know." Frank shook his head. "If it's biological it not anything I've ever seen before."

"Not like any Fringe event, either," Olivia said.

"Okay." Lincoln nodded. "Let's get back to HQ before we melt and start running down leads."

*****

The lab a floor down from the main Fringe Division office was sleek and modern and smelled faintly of antiseptic. Frank entered the room and looked around before heading toward the station that Charlie had indicated was where he could find their liaison with Medical.

"Hi, I'm…"

A man in green scrubs looked up from his workstation and his eyes widened. He pushed himself away from his desk and closed the space quickly. "Dr. Stanton. I read your paper on Baculovirus expression vectors. It was amazing."

"Uh. Wow. Thanks."

"Darryl Ryant. It's really great to meet you. I've already started preliminary testing on the victim - blood, tissue samples, that sort of thing. Our ME will be here in 20 to do the autopsy."

"Have you gotten any of the tests back yet?"

"We've isolated an unusual antibody in the victim's blood but I haven't been able to identify it. We have cultures in the accelerated environment chamber, but it will still be a couple hours until they're usable."

Frank looked at the model of the antibody on his Pad, rotating it with one finger. "Does the antibody share any characteristics with anything? It doesn't look like it has an commonalties with anything I'm familiar with."

"That's the problem. It shares characteristics with everything. It's like it's the result of some bacterial stew that was made by too many cooks."

Frank tapped the screen, zooming in. "What is that?"

The tech shook his head. "Some kind of marker, maybe?"

Frank frowned. "Maybe. Hey, do you have a terminal I can use to access the CDC research database."

Ryant nodded. "Of course."

*****

Olivia pushed away from her desk and stretched, digging her fingers into a tight spot on her shoulder. She glanced at her watch and winced at the time.

"Hey."

Charlie turned towards her and Olivia said, "I'm going to the cafeteria. Want me to grab you something?"

He nodded, then his eyes flicked up to look toward the elevator. Olivia turned as Frank crossed the room.

She smiled at him. "Please tell me you've had better luck than we have."

He frowned. "Yeah. Maybe."

Olivia reached for him out of habit, then forced her arm back to her side. "What is it?"

"Where's Lincoln?"

"He's checking in with the search teams," Liv answered.

"He should hear this."

She tapped her earcuff and after a moment said, "Hey, get up here. Frank's got something."

A few minutes later Lincoln jogged into the room.

"Alright, what did you find?"

"The lab is still running tests but we found something interesting in the initial analysis." He flicked the image from his Pad to the main screen. "That is a segment of the antibody that was triggered by whatever infected the victim. One of the antibodies."

Lincoln glanced over at him. "He was infected by more than one thing?"

Frank frowned at the screen. "In a sense. It seems to be a combination of several things, all agents that usually target specific types of cells or tissues. We haven't isolated all of them, but they seem to be targeting nearly every system in the victim's body. Whoever made this made sure they covered all the bases."

"You think this was engineered?"

"I know it is. This sort of systemic infection doesn't happen by accident. Someone trying to… make something, I guess."

"A bioagent? Like the Elko-Koppinger virus?"

"I don't think so. The goal of things like E-K Coronovirus is to do as much damage as possible. Despite the outcome, I think the victim was supposed to survive this. That's not the interesting part, though."

Lincoln's eyebrows inched up. "It isn't?"

Frank pointed at the screen again. "That segment is found is all of the antibodies. It's some kind of marker."

Olivia shook her head. "Marker for what?"

"It's like a signature. They're used in bioengineering like a copyright mark, but this one isn't a publicly registered mark. It was used internally by a biomedical firm called Novus that went under a few years ago."

"What did they research?" Charlie asked.

"They were one of the forerunners in designer engineering before they were bankrupted by a string of lawsuits. We located the doctor who was in charge of the facility before it folded. Simon Reynolds teaches at NYU Med Center."

"Okay," Lincoln said, "let's start there. Charlie, take Frank and interview the doctor. Liv and I'll will follow up with the data Astrid's gotten from the search team and see if an ID has been made on the victim."

*****

"The area within the search parameters contained seventeen warehouses, six small businesses, one restaurant, nine empty buildings and thirty seven homes. There were no witnesses who reported seeing the victim, and no origin point could be determined." Astrid tapped at her workstation and pulled up a photo. "We have identified the victim as Lawrence Mulberg. He is a citizen of Independent Nevada and has been in residence in various states on the eastern seaboard for the last ten years. No immediate family, no permanent address. He failed to renew his Show-Me two years ago."

Olivia looked at the photo and tried to reconcile it with the image of the victim. "No one to report him missing."

"Okay, so he was probably a convenient target. What's his last known address?"

"He registered at a transient housing commune in Ocean City six months ago," Astrid said.

Olivia looked at Lincoln. "There for the winter, I bet. Maybe we'll get lucky and it's one of the ones that keeps good records."

Lincoln winced. "Alright, that's the best bet we have for him. Liv, get in touch with the site director and see if anyone remembers him, knows where he might have gone. If we can figure out where he was living, we'll be closer to figuring out where he was infected."

*****

The medical school was in a nondescript building that bordered on ugly. Through a narrow gap between buildings, Frank could just see the East River.

Simon Reynolds met them at reception and led them to his office. He was a small man, with deeply tanned skin and a neatly trimmed beard. His shirtsleeves were rolled up over muscled forearms. The wireframe glasses gave him a studious appearance that the battered hiking boots on his feet belied.

"Thank you for talking the time to see us, Dr. Reynolds."

He waved them into overstuffed chairs and sat with them rather than circling to the chair behind his desk.

"You're very welcome."

"This," Frank turned his Pad towards the doctor, "is an internal marker from Novus, right?"

Reynolds adjusted his glasses and nodded. "Yes. We called that one the spy marker. It was plastered throughout everything that was in R&D to protect against industrial espionage. Where on earth did you find this?"

"It was found in antibodies in a victim of a possible Fringe event."

"That doesn't make any sense. There's no reason this marker would show up in anything since Novus closed. There'd be no reason for it to even exist now."

"You don't think that anyone from Novus might be continuing their research?" Frank asked.

"Well, of course. Most everyone, I'd assume, but this particular marker wouldn't be part of their processes now. They'd be using the markers from where they're currently employed."

Charlie leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "Dr. Reynolds, can you think of anyone from Novus who could be involved in underground research?"

There was no hesitation when he answered, "Adam Conrad."

Charlie said, "That didn't take you very long."

"I've been expecting this visit for years. It was just a matter of time before Conrad's work caught someone's attention."

Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"He had very distinct ideas about the ethics of research."

Frank looked at Charlie before asking, "What can you tell us about him?"

"He was not a pleasant person to be around. Very abrasive and egotistical. The ego is a hazard of our work, playing God as we do, but Conrad took it to new heights. He had little concern for the ethical boundaries that we must work within."

"How so?" Frank asked.

"The well-being of Conrad's research subjects was a far distant second to the results of the research. He was censured many times before his employment was terminated. I pushed the center to pursue legal action, to have his medical license stripped, but the facility closed shortly after that. I… I admit I became more concerned with my own situation, being suddenly jobless with a young child. I didn't follow through on my concerns."

Charlie nodded in understanding. "Do you know of anyone who Dr. Conrad might have confided in? Another doctor or someone outside of work he was close to"?

"He very much kept to himself."

"Did he have any family?"

"Not that he spoke of, but I doubt that's a definitive answer." Dr. Reynolds pulled his glasses of and rubbed his eyes. "What has he done?"

Charlie and Frank glanced at each other. Dr. Reynolds waved his hand. "Never mind. On-going investigation. I understand. I assume that he's continued his research and that the outcome was unpleasant."

"You've been very helpful." Charlie stood and offered his hand to the doctor.

"That's kind, Agent, but I've offered nothing that couldn't be found by routine background checks. Conrad's research violations were well documented."

Frank gave him a rueful smile. "Still, we do appreciate your cooperation in this matter. If you think of anything else, please let us know.

"Of course."

*****

The heat made Frank's t-shirt stick to his skin the instant they left the building. "What do you think?"

Charlie shrugged and put his sunglasses on, glaring up at the sky. "Reynolds seemed convinced that Conrad could be capable of pretty iffy research. We'll need to follow up on that, but it looks like he's a decent candidate for bad guy."

"So. What now?"

"Now we go back to HQ where there's air conditioning and see if Astrid found anything."

*****

Olivia strode towards one of the interview rooms that ringed the edge of the office. As she passed Astrid's data station, she gestured for the Looker to follow.

"Agent Dunham?"

"The site director from Ocean City is vidding in and transferring their records. They aren't likely to be very organized. Can you look over them as they come in and let me know if there's anything that I need to ask?"

"Of course, Agent Dunham."

Olivia held the door open and followed the younger woman into the room. The data station lit up as Astrid approached and Olivia tapped the main video screen to life. The wall-sized screen resolved into an image of a harried-looking women. Olivia smiled.

"Ms. Watson?"

The woman on the screen nodded. "Yes."

"Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about this."

"You're very welcome."

Olivia leaned against the table and crossed her arms. "What can you tell me about Lawrence Mulberg?"

"Not much, honestly. He wasn't here long. He'd originally indicated he wanted to over-winter here, but he never really settled in. I think he only stayed on-site a few nights."

"Any friends? Anyone he talked with? Did he list any family when he registered?"

"No, I'm sorry. He just wasn't here long enough. I've asked around our staff and some of the long-term residents. Most of them don't even remember him, and the few that do don't know where he might have gone."

Olivia glanced at Astrid, and the Looker shook her head. Olivia nodded. "Well, thanks for your time."

The screen flicked out and Olivia sighed.

"There is nothing in the records about Lawrence Mulberg that we did not already know. She did not omit anything."

"Thanks, Astrid. I'll let you get back to work."

 

*****

Astrid's hands flew across the surface of her workstation and she delivered her report without looking up.

"Including all persons who resigned or were fired one year prior to Novus being closed, eighty three percent of the employees of were hired by rival companies, eight percent took jobs with either the CDC or other government agencies, six percent changed careers and are now employed in other industries. The remaining three percent are either unemployed, incarcerated, or deceased." Astrid hesitated.

"Anything else?" Olivia asked.

"I have been unable to determine the status of Dr. Adam Conrad."

Lincoln tapped the surface of the desk. "Find him."

"Yes, sir, only…"

"What?"

"He does not exist. I am finding no records of him at all once him employment was terminated two weeks prior to Novus closing. His Show-Me has not been scanned at any check-point, domestic or international since then."

"Look for family, friends, ex-girlfriends, anyone who had connections to this guy."

"Look for any Fringe events associated with him."

Everyone looked up at Frank.

He shrugged. "Maybe something happened to him."

Lincoln nodded. "Do that. Good call. Okay, people, let's find this guy."

Astrid made a surprised little sound and Lincoln turned back to her. She was looking up at the main screen. The picture was that of an unassuming man with sandy hair and bright hazel eyes.

"Darren Conrad," she said. "He owned a successful mechanic shop. The business abruptly closed three days after Adam Conrad was fired from Novus. Sir, the business is less than half a mile from where Lawrence Mulberg was found."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Nice and suspicious. Maybe they relocated together."

Charlie flicked through the data that was streaming to his Pad. "If they did, they left someone behind to pay the rent."

Lincoln said, "Track the payments."

Astrid licked her lips before saying, "They are being made in cash, sir."

Lincoln made a face. "Cash? Who uses cash?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say rogue scientists who don't want to be tracked." Olivia smirked.

Lincoln leveled his gaze at Olivia, then looked at Astrid. "Find out where the cash is coming from, how the payments are dropped off."

She nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Lincoln looked at the satellite image of the garage. "If someone's paying rent on the place there must be a reason for it."

Charlie shrugged. "We should go see if anyone's home."

*****

Olivia peered into the dingy window while Charlie pounded on the door.

"Fringe Division. Open up."

"No one's in there, Charlie. The place is abandoned." Her earcuff chirped and she touched a finger to it. "Yeah?"

Lincoln's voice sounded in her ear. "There's an entrance around back. It's been used recently."

She gestured for Charlie to follow her. "Lincoln's got something."

*****

The benches along the back wall of the room were littered with tools. A teacup and pack of cigarettes rested on one, covered with dust like the rest of the surfaces.

Olivia scuffed her foot against the relatively clean floor.

"Anyone see anything weird?"

Lincoln nodded to a dust mop standing in one corner. "Selective cleaning."

They looked around.

"Okay, start going over surfaces that have been cleaned. Figure out what Conrad's been using here."

"Floor's concrete. Doesn't look like anything else has been disturbed."

Olivia peered down a set of metal stairs that led into a pit beneath one of the lifts. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Lincoln."

He peered over her shoulder into the darkness and nodded. "Charlie, you and Frank stay up here."

The air in the tunnel was cold and humid and their footsteps squelched against the damp floor. Olivia set her feet carefully on the slick surface. The light over the door flickered fitfully, casting dancing shadows that made her eyes dart around. They stopped on either side of the door, and Lincoln touched her arm lightly.

He tried the doorknob, rotating it slowly until it hit the lock, then shook his head at her. She shifted away, giving him room, and steadied her gun. He held her eyes for a moment longer then turned towards the door as she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. She ran her tongue over her lower lip as he mouthed, "One, two, three."

The doorjamb splintered under the force of the kick, and Olivia followed Lincoln's motion, sweeping her eyes across the room for movement, gun tracking along with her eyes. She took a second, slower sweep as they stepped inside, looking into the shadows under tables, along the walls, before declaring, "Clear."

Lincoln answered in kind, and they looked around the lab they'd found.

Lincoln touched a finger to his earcuff. "Hey Charlie, come on down, it's clear. And bring Frank, I think he'll want to see this."

*****

Frank looked around the dimly lit lab and whistled. Despite the chaos, the equipment was state of the art. "This guy was well-funded." Frank turned in a circle and looked at the equipment that was left. "All the smaller equipment has been cleared out. Anything that was easy to carry."

Olivia poked through the clutter on one of the benches, then looked over her shoulder. "He knew we were coming."

Charlie said, "Alright, how does this track: Mulberg wasn't released - he escaped. When Conrad found out he was gone, he salvaged as much as he could and bailed."

Olivia nodded. "Makes sense."

"How'd he escape?" Frank asked.

Lincoln crossed the room towards a set of shelves. "Dunno. Look around. See what we can find."

Frank pulled a little rack of vials filled with a reddish fluid out of a refrigerator. He held one up and squinted at it. "We'll need a medical forensics team to go over what's left here."

Lincoln nodded and tapped his cuff.

Charlie opened the freezer. "Uh. Jackpot. Of sorts."

Olivia winced at the half-dissected bodies inside. "How many people are in there?"

Charlie craned his neck to look in the narrow space. "Four, maybe five."

"This guy's been working on this for a while."

"Probably since Novus closed. Let's get a forensic team in here before we move them."

Lincoln circled the room and stopped in front of a tall cabinet. Olivia heard the little click just after Lincoln opened the door. She opened her mouth, warning trying to reach her lips, then the doors on the cabinet blew outward, knocking them across the room.

Her ears were ringing when she staggered to her feet, and she choked on the acrid smoke. Olivia rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her vision. Somewhere behind her she could hear Frank coughing and Charlie swearing. She stumbled towards the unmoving form in front of her.

"Lincoln?"

He blinked his eyes open and sat up slowly.

"Out. Come on."

Frank stared through the smoke at the remains of the vials on the table. "No."

"Frank, come on."

"No." He pushed himself upright and grabbed Lincoln's arm. "No one in or out. We have to call for a decontamination unit."

"What?"

"The blast broke open the vials I found. We've been exposed to whatever was in them."

Lincoln followed his gaze to the shattered vials. "Okay. What do we do?"

"We need to be quarantined." He shook his head at their sick expressions. "Not Amber, just a regular quarantine. We need to call for a level five decontamination unit and we need to be tested for exposure."

Lincoln looked at the cabinet, then at Charlie and Olivia. He touched a finger to his ear cuff. "We need a biological quarantine unit at our location. Dr. Stanton recommends a level five decontamination. No one's to enter the site until it's secure."

*****

When the CDC HAZMAT unit arrived, they were wearing heavy suits, their breathing units fully contained. Frank swallowed hard and let his head thump back against the wall. The lead agent's voice was muffled by the suit and the whir of the breathing unit.

"Agents. Dr. Stanton. The decontamination unit is upstairs. Please proceed upstairs one at a time. Agent Dunham, if you'll enter the unit using the door on the left, the rest of you please use the door on the right." He turned towards the Fringe agents and asked, "Are you familiar with field decontamination procedures?"

Lincoln glanced at Charlie before answering, "In theory."

The agent nodded, the hooded mask bobbing up and down. "Just listen to the directions of the agents leading you though the unit and you'll be fine."

*****

Olivia's hands were shaking as she stripped off her clothing.

"Your watch, too, agent Dunham."

Olivia glanced over her shoulder at the CDC guard in the HAZMAT suit, eyes resting on the rifle she held casually at her side. Olivia swallowed hard and nodded, adding the watch to the pile of clothing. She hugged her arms around herself.

"Hold out your hand, please."

She held out her left arm, trying to hold it steady against the shivering, and the guard fixed a little plastic bracelet around her wrist.

"Please step into the next room. The door will lock behind you and you'll need to stay there until the shower is finished. When it's done, the light on the opposing wall will turn green and the other door will unlock. Please don't try to open the door until the spray stops and the light changes color.

Olivia nodded again.

"You probably wanna keep your eyes closed until the shower stops, too. That stuff stings like a bitch."

*****

Frank pulled on the white jumpsuit, then ran a hand through his hair, pushing his damp bangs off his forehead. Charlie was sitting on the bench, rubbing at his eyes.

"That just makes it worse."

The agent squinted up at him. "How can it be worse? And why isn't is bothering you?"

Frank smirked and pulled on one of the little blue booties. "This isn't exactly my first decon." He looked around at the little room. "Usually we just get tents, though. This pod thing is pretty nice." He raised an eyebrow. "You guys must have friends in high places."

"Holy fuck, what was that?" Lincoln staggered out of the wet room, scratching violently at his arms.

Charlie threw a towel at him. "Cover yourself, man, no one wants to see that."

"That's not what your sister told me."

"Even in the face of death, you just can't stop being an asshole, can you?"

Lincoln rubbed at his skin with the towel. "No, seriously, what the fuck?"

Frank rummaged in a cabinet and pulled out a brown bottle and some cotton pads. "You're having a reaction to the chemical bath. Stop scratching and try this."

Charlie held up his arm, shaking the plastic band. "So what are these for?"

"Tracking and cataloging. They have information about what we were exposed to, when we went through decon, and they keep track of where we are." He hesitated a moment. "Don't take it off."

Lincoln looked up from slathering pink cream all over himself. "Why not?"

"Decon procedures assume that if you're taking off the bracelet, you're panicking. It releases a highly potent sedative and signals for a tactical containment team."

"Tactical containment team? That sounds ominous."

Frank nodded shortly. "I'd avoid it if possible."

Lincoln and Charlie exchanged a long glance, then Charlie looked at the red light over the exit. "What happens now?"

Frank followed his glance at the light and sighed. "We're being quarantined. Since we're not being kept separate this is either SOP and they're not worried about any of us infecting the others because they're sure we aren't infected." He trailed off and looked at the little plastic bracelet around his wrist.

"Or?"

"They're not worried about us infecting each other because they know we're already infected."

*****

Olivia shivered in the back of the ambulance and huddled closer against Frank's side.

They'd been loaded into the ambulance through a flexible tube attached to the decontamination pod that sealed them away from the outside. The air felt close and dry, like an airplane, and the faint hiss over the road noise suggested a filtration system. There weren't any windows.

Charlie nudged her foot with his. Her face was pale, all the color drained from it. "You okay?"

She nodded and plastered a grin to her face and tried to swallow down the nausea. "Peachy."

Lincoln was bouncing one knee up and down, a nervous tell that did nothing to quiet Olivia's own nerves. Charlie looked ashen. "So where are they taking us?"

"There's a level 4 quarantine facility outside of Bloomfield, I'd guess there, but the route feels wrong. We'd be on the expressway already." Frank frowned. "We're in stop and go traffic. I'm not sure why they're heading farther into town."

"Maybe HQ?" Lincoln asked. "We were on a Fringe Division case, not a CDC one."

"Maybe." Frank gave up on keeping up professional appearances and put his arm over Olivia's shoulder and pulled her closer. His frown deepened and brushed her bangs off her forehead, laid his hand against her skin. "Jesus, Liv, you're burning up."

"That's bad, right?" Lincoln leaned across the narrow space of the ambulance and took one of her hands in his.

Frank licked his lips and thought for a moment before he said, "It's… not good."

Charlie nodded towards Olivia and wrapped his arms around his stomach. "You think we were exposed to the same thing the victim was?"

"There were a lot of compounds at the lab. We could have been exposed to any number of things."

"The bomb was triggered when we opened that cabinet." Olivia forced the words out between chattering teeth. "It was rigged."

Lincoln nodded. "The explosion was controlled. If they wanted us dead they could have just had the explosion kill us. Why bother infecting us?"

"Field trial, maybe?" Frank offered. "See how it reacts in an uncontrolled setting."

Lincoln stopped bouncing his leg as the ambulance slowed, then rocked over a speed bump and rattled up a small incline. "Ferry."

Frank frowned. "What?"

Lincoln shook his head. "We're on the ferry. They must be taking us to the DoD headquarters on Liberty Island."

*****

Lincoln winced as the lab technician drew another blood sample. The woman was wearing a HAZMAT suit - not one of the heavy ones that the guards at the site had been wearing, but it was still enough to be worrying.

"You gonna leave any of that inside me? I think I need that." Lincoln's voice was raspy and he shivered occasionally.

"This should be the last time we need to draw blood, Captain Lee." Her voice was muffled and distant.

"So, um. I've noticed that I haven't transformed into The Wolfman."

The corners of her eyes crinkled in a smile but her mouth was hidden by the mask. "The substance that you were exposed to doesn't seem to be the same thing that the victim was exposed to. It's bacterial in nature and it's possible that it was compromised in the explosion. Your immune system is doing its job."

"Oh, well, that's good then. I'd hate for my immune system to be a slacker when it comes to something like this. So why are Olivia and Charlie so sick?"

The tech hesitated for a moment. "Agent Dunham's fine. She's fighting off the infection."

Lincoln waited a few moments before asking, "And Charlie?"

"Agent Francis' unique medical history is causing complications for him."

"What kind of complications?"

"The infection and the worms are fighting over him."

Lincoln's response was automatic. "Arachnids."

"Of course. He's stable and we're monitoring him closely, but it will be a while before we know more. The entomologist who treated him during his initial infestation is here and she's confident in his chances for recovery."

"Frank?"

"Dr. Stanton received regular anti-viral and anti-bacterial treatments as a precaution given his work. His reaction to this was minimal. He's resting, and you should do the same."

"Right. Listen, when can we leave?"

"Captain Lee, we need to make sure you're not going to have further complications from your infection, and to ensure that you're not a threat to public safety."

He gave her a shaky grin. "Come on, how could I be threatening?"

"I'm sure the test results will be back soon and you'll be cleared to leave, but until then you should rest."

"I want to see my team."

"They're fine, Captain Lee. We're taking good care of them. You can see them in the morning."

She stashed the vial of blood in the little caddy she carried with her. The door shut behind her with a dull click. Lincoln stared at it before pushing himself off the bed. He let his head thump against the door when he tried the handle and it didn't move.

*****

After 24 hours of observation, Olivia was pacing restlessly in the tiny room. She whirled towards the door when it opened, admitting a guard.

He held up a sweat pants and a Department of Defense Medical Section t-shirt. "Couldn't spring your quarantined clothing, but this should get you home."

"Oh, thank you. Finally."

"I'll be outside when you're dressed."

*****

Olivia followed the guard through the maze of hallways. Lincoln was standing at the elevator with his own guard.

"Lincoln! They're letting you go, too?"

"Yeah. They're gonna keep Charlie another few days, but he's gonna be fine. Did you see him?"

"He was asleep. I didn't want to wake him up."

Lincoln studied her. "How are you feeling?"

She lifted one shoulder in a tired shrug. "Better? You."

"Right as rain. Where's Frank?"

"Harassing the doctors." The elevator lurched slightly, then carried them up to the lobby.

Frank glared at a dark-haired man in a lab coat - one of the doctors who had treated them. Olivia wrinkled her nose in distaste at the sight of him.

"The initial Gram staining is positive, but the sample isn't matching any known markers." Fayette's face was pinched in anger. "As I'm sure you're aware, cultures take time."

Frank spread his hands. "Look, Dr. Fayette, all I'm saying is that if this is an infectious agent, you're required to release sample to the CDC."

"I'm well aware of federal mandates, Dr. Stanton. If the Department of Defense determines that this is an unidentified agent…"

"You've already said it is!" Frank snapped.

"The Department of Defense will cooperate with the CDC when it's determined that this isn't a matter of security."

"Security? You're the one withholding information from the CDC."

"No one's withholding anything, Dr. Stanton."

"Fine. Expect to hear from district chief Carville." Frank fell into step with Olivia as she crossed the lobby. "Jerk."

"Problems?"

Frank lifted a shoulder. "Nothing I can do anything about now." He glanced over at Lincoln. "Did they tell you Charlie's doing better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Lincoln squeezed her shoulder and lightly slapped Frank on the back. "Get some rest, okay. I'll see you in a few days."

 

*****

Olivia stretched and turned her face up, enjoying the warmth of the sun as she stepped out of the SUV in front of their apartment building.

Frank laced his fingers with hers. "Feeling better?"

"Mmm. Yeah, starting to. I'm still sore as hell."

Frank swiped his Show Me at the front door, then held it open for Olivia. He dug in his backpack for his keys.

"I can't believe you didn't get sick," Olivia said, stepping through the door of their apartment after Frank unlocked it.

"Clean living."

Olivia snorted. She dropped her backpack and leaned against the door, staring down at her boots. Frank took her hand and led her to the couch. When he was done pulling her shoes off, he smiled up at her.

He rested his hands on the tops of her knees, rubbing his thumbs over the fabric of her sweatpants. She looked pale and tired, long lashes fanning over the dark circles under her eyes. "Hey."

"Mmm?"

"You wanna blow the rest of the month's water ration on a hot bath?"

"Mmmmm." She shook her head. "No, it's too expensive when we go over."

Frank shrugged and slid his hands up her thighs. "Worth it. Come on."

She rested her hands on his, then gave him a tired smile. "I'll get sick more often if this is the treatment I get."

He stretched up and kissed her, then pulled her to her feet. "We have four days until you go back to work, and I intend to take very good care of you in that time." He herded her towards the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alt-team become werewolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Id-fic, pure and simple. I wanted the alt-team as werewolves, so, here you go. Thanks to [](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**chichuri**](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/) for encouragement and brainstorming, especially regarding the science, and [](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**kerithwyn**](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/) for beta reading.

"Charlie!"

"Hey, kiddo." Charlie pulled Olivia into a hug.

She stepped back but kept her hands on his arms. "I didn't think you'd be back today."

"I am feeling fantastic now that my spider friends have exited the premises."

"That's so weird," Olivia said. "I mean, that you just had to get sick and they'd die."

"I think it was a little more complicated than that, but I was pretty delirious when Mona explained it."

"Mona?"

"Dr. Foster."

"Oh, right. Bug girl."

"I kind of miss them." He patted his stomach. "Seems lonely now."

She punched his arm lightly. "I'm sure you'll get used to it." Olivia rubbed her forehead, trying to will away the headache. She squinted up at the lights. "Is brighter in here today?"

Charlie turned and frowned at her. "Anyone else I'd ask if they'd had too much to drink last night."

Olivia sat at her desk, one hand flat against the surface and waited for her workstation to recognize her and start up. "I guess I'm still feeling a little under the weather."

"You should have taken another day off."

"Mmm. No, starting to go stircrazy. It's good to be back at work." Her tone implied that that was not entirely true.

Charlie leaned on her desk and rubbed her arm. "Something wrong?"

She shrugged. "Seems weird to not have Frank here."

"It was good working with him. He's a good guy."

Olivia looked up as Lincoln walked up to her desk. "Yeah, unlike some people."

"What?"

She and Charlie laughed. "Nothing."

"Whatever. Alright, you've got debriefings scheduled with Ops. After that we'll run down everything with Astrid, see if she can follow through on some leads to find this guy." He tapped at his Pad for a moment. "I requested that Frank be allowed to continue to working with us on this."

Charlie and Olivia blinked at each other, then looked at Lincoln.

"Really?" Olivia asked.

Lincoln nodded and looked up at them, anxious. "Yeah."

Charlie grinned and Olivia said, "Awesome."

Lincoln smiled a little. "Really?"

"Yeah," Olivia said, "why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were okay working with him or not, but I really think we can use his help on this."

Olivia made a face. "Working with him is great."

"Not overloading you with togetherness?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, great. We're just waiting for approval from whatshisname at the CDC." Lincoln smiled at them, then waved his hands. "Alright, go to your meetings, check in with Astrid and knock off early today."

Olivia raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, you both look like crap. You're scaring the interns."

Charlie knocked his shoulder into Lincoln's when he walked past. "Your concern is overwhelming."

*****

"You're home early," Frank said, surprise coloring his voice.

Olivia dropped her backpack and flung her arms around Frank's neck. He nuzzled the side of her face before finding her lips. She murmured into his mouth, "Missed you, too."

He smiled and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. "How was work?"

"Good. Meetings, mostly. And paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork."

"Oh, I know how you love that," Frank smirked.

Olivia smirked back, then sobered. "Astrid's still trying to track Conrad."

Frank nodded. "I got clearance from Carville to continue working with Fringe Division on this."

Olivia's smile returned. "That's great."

"Yeah, so I can go in with you tomorrow."

"Charlie and Lincoln both said they missed you today."

"I missed them too."

"Hey, I was thinking maybe they could come over tonight for dinner? I mean, if you don't mind cooking? Or we could just get take out."

"Yeah, they can come over. I'll run to the store if you want to call them."

*****

Charlie pointed at the table. "Is that guacamole?"

Frank sat a bowl of chips down on the coffee table. "Yeah."

Lincoln blinked. "Where did you get avocados?"

"And why are you wasting them on these jerks?" Olivia nudged him with her elbow.

"Hey, watch it, Red."

Olivia grinned and dropped on the couch next to where Charlie was eating.

Charlie's eyes fluttered shut and he said, "Oh my god, this is good."

Lincoln asked, "You need some time alone with that?"

"Yeah, so I can eat it all and not share with any of you dicks."

Frank grinned. "Remind me why I wanted to work with you?"

Lincoln mumbled around a mouthful of chips, "You know you love us." He winked at Olivia and gave her a toothy grin after he swallowed.

"So Frank, how long do we get to keep you?" Charlie asked.

He shrugged. "Until we're done working on this, I guess. Unless a major smallpox outbreak happens. I'd have to leave for that."

Lincoln looked up. "How often does that happen? It usually makes the news, right?"

"The big ones do. If it happens in a smaller community it doesn't always rate enough interest for anything other than local newscasts. There are three or four big outbreaks a year."

A timer sounded in the kitchen and Frank patted Olivia's thigh then stood. "Food's done."

 

*****

Dinner was carne asada and fluffy Spanish rice and they ate crowded around the little table in the kitchen.

Frank's elbow jostled into Olivia every few minutes and Lincoln nudged her foot under the table. Charlie just smirked at them, then said, "This is really good, Frank, where'd you learn to cook?"

"My dad loves to cook. I picked it up from him." He laughed a little. "I used to actually volunteer for mess duty when I was at Annapolis."

Lincoln shook his head. "Freak."

Frank grinned and said, "Oh, sure, mock me while you're stuffing your face."

"Don't mind if I do."

"I suppose it works out," Charlie said, "since we know that Liv can't cook."

"I can cook," she protested.

The three of them stared at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I can."

Charlie wrinkled his nose.

Olivia looked at Frank. "Tell them."

He shook his head. "Staying out of this one."

She huffed out an annoyed breath, blowing her bangs back from her forehead. "Fine."

Lincoln laughed. "Aww, poor Liv, no one will take your side when you're wrong. Ow!"

"Children," Charlie said. "No kicking under the table."

*****  
It was nearing midnight when they said their goodbyes. Dishes had been cleaned and put away with Charlie's and Lincoln's help. They lazed in the living room, full and content, laughing and talking until Charlie called it a night.

Olivia closed the door after them and leaned against it, watching Frank sprawled on the couch.

"That went well," she said.

"If by well you mean that you and Lincoln didn't kill each other, then, yes."

"We were just playing."

Frank huffed out a little laugh. "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about."

She gave him a toothy smile when he crooked his finger at her. She crossed the room slowly, swinging her hips.

"You're worried?"

"Should I be?"

Liv kicked his feet apart and stood between his legs.

"I'm not _with_ Lincoln."

Frank tipped his head back and looked up at her. A slow grin slanted across his face. "Prove it."

Olivia laughed and stepped back, grabbing his hands and pulling him to his feet. She walked backwards toward the bedroom.

He pulled his hands away from hers and settled them on her hips, changing her course and pushing her against the wall. She laughed into his mouth when he kissed her, then hummed in approval at the roughness of the kiss, the hard press of his lips against her. She twisted her fingers into his shirt and pulled him closer. He turned and buried his face in the crook of her neck, scraped his teeth upward and nipped just under her ear. He pressed his nose to her skin and breathed in deeply. "God, you smell good. How do you smell so good?"

She laughed and pulled at his hair until he was kissing her mouth again. She bit his lip, holding the soft skin between her teeth until he huffed out a little gasp. She released him and said, "Bed."

They tumbled on to the bed, kicking away blankets and pillows. Frank settled over her, face to her neck again, licking her skin.

"Fuck, Liv."

She turned her head to the side, arching under him. He closed his mouth over the join of neck and shoulder, sucking a bruise into her skin. He slid lower, nosing at the collar of her shirt, hands restless over her body. Liv tugged at his shirt until he moved away just enough to let her pull it over his head. They moved against each other, grinding together until Liv hooked one leg over Frank's hip and twisted, flipping them over.

Olivia flattened her hands on Frank's chest, leaning into him. He circled his hands around her wrists and she growled, digging her fingernails into his skin until he dropped his hands back to the bed. She leaned over him, lips just brushing his until he whined and shifted under her. She rocked her hips, rubbing against the ridge of his cock until they were both panting.

"Liv, come on, please. Wanna feel you."

She rolled her hips again, grinding down on him. "You can't feel me now?"

"Christ. More. More." He worked open the fly of her pants and pushed his fingers in, sliding over damp curls and wet, slick skin. She lifted slightly and he curled two fingers into her. The angle was awkward -- he really couldn't do more than wiggle his fingers, but she moaned just the same.

Olivia leaned over him, hair falling forward to curtain their faces. She nipped the corner of his mouth sharply, then closed her lips over his.

*****

"Look who's back."

"Hey, Charlie," Frank said. "Managed to survive without me?"

"Do you come by that irritating attitude naturally or did you pick it up from Liv?"

"Part of my charm." Frank slapped Charlie's shoulder and went in search of tea.

Charlie grinned at Olivia and she frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," he said. "It's just amusing to me that Frank and Lincoln are going to be fighting over you all day." He paused and scratched his chin. "Did I say amusing? I meant annoying."

"They don't fight over me."

"Really."

"They just… Okay, there might be some jealousy issues."

Charlie laughed.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "They're both grown-ups. I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Charlie spread his hands on the surface of her desk and leaned forward. "Did you just call Lincoln a grown-up?"

She smiled, then laughed. "Yeah, okay, so that's a bit of a stretch."

Lincoln walked up, staring at his Pad. "Okay, Astrid's running scenarios about where Conrad might have gone. Where's Frank?"

"Right behind you," Frank said, holding two cups of tea, one of which he handed to Olivia. "We should have her cross-reference the list of equipment that was left behind at the site to what someone would need to do advanced gene sequencing and recombination. He'd have to replace it somehow, so look for shipments or even break-ins at other facilities."

Lincoln leveled a finger at Frank. "You are a handy thing to have around. Where's my tea?"

A map flashed up on the main screen and an alarm chimed in the background. Astrid looked up from the data station.

"Sir, there's a collapse happening in Port Reading along the commuter rail line."

Lincoln pointed at Charlie, then Olivia. "Be ready to move out in 10." He turned and jogged up to Broyles' office.

Charlie tapped Frank's shoulder as he went past. "Come on."

"Um."

Olivia glanced up. "You're not working on anything, are you?"

Frank shrugged. "I could go back to the lab and see if there's anything I can help with."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Olivia said. "Come with us."

"I think I'm just supposed to be helping with the virus case."

She shrugged and quirked a smile at him. "Says who?"

"The people we work for, I'm pretty sure."

"You're cleared for field work as long as you're with one of us. We're all going to be there."

Frank shrugged. "Okay."

*****

The area around the train was cordoned of with orange ribbons, well away from the embankment that led up to the tracks. The crowd around it was small.

Olivia looked around. "Where are the commuters? This train should have been full."

"It was empty when first responders arrived," Charlie said, looking up from his Pad.

Lincoln nodded towards the field agent who jogged up to them. "How are we looking?"

"Stable for now, Sir. Lookers are giving 87% that a secondary collapse will happen within the next 22 minutes."

"Let's move then." Lincoln pointed to Charlie and Frank. "You two go talk to the responders, Liv and I will do a walkthrough on the train." He pulled an Amber canister from his field kit. "Just in case."

Liv nodded and headed towards the train, pulling herself up to one of the open doors. The interior was lit by flickering emergency lights. Olivia wrinkled her noise and covered her face with the sleeve of her jacket. "Smells like a Fringe event."

"Burning electronics and ozone," Lincoln agreed and nudged a bag with his foot. "Looks like one, too. Personal belongings everywhere, no sign of a struggle or that they had any warning. Just gone."

"Maybe the train passed through a micro-vortex? It could have formed on the tracks right in front of the train and they didn't have enough time to stop."

"Maybe." Lincoln forced open the door to the second car. "So Frank comes in the field with us now?"

She darted her eyes towards him. "He was bored waiting for the lab results."

Lincoln looked over his shoulder as he stepped into the second car. "He's not a field agent."

"Lincoln, I'm pretty sure we've been over this before." Olivia frowned and shoved her way past Lincoln.

He stared after her. "I'm just saying, I don't bring my girlfriend along on cases with us."

"You don't have a girlfriend."

"That's not the point."

"Isn't it?"

"No."

She turned to face him. "If you're so worried about Frank, why are you with me instead of him?"

A faint tremor ran through the floor of the train, followed by a low hissing sound.

"What the hell was that?" Olivia asked.

Lincoln tapped his ear cuff. "Charlie. Yeah, we felt it too. Move everyone back and get atmospheric readings. We'll set the Amber and meet you outside." He placed the canister in the center of the car. "Come on, Liv, we can activate it remotely if a collapse starts."

Olivia was looking into the next car. "Did you see that?"

"Liv. Let's get out of here."

"Someone's in there."

"First responders searched the train, no one's here." He grabbed at her arm and she shook him off. A warning started chirping on their cuffs and the canister armed itself.

"I know what I saw, Lincoln."

"And I know that we need to get the hell out of here. Now."

Lincoln pulled her after him until she started following.

The canister was just starting to hiss as they ran past, Amber flooding out of the nozzle at the top. The chemical smell of it burned Lincoln's nose and throat. The large, loose rocks at the side of the track slowed them. They skidded into the group of agents standing in the safe zone.

Lincoln braced his hands on his knees.

Charlie shook his head. "Cutting it awful close there, boss." Frank stood behind him, eyes wide and face pale.

Lincoln looked up, still panting. "Start clean up procedures. Give everyone chips for radiation testing. We're heading back in."

Olivia said, "We should…"

"Agent Dunham, we are heading back to the office." He turned to a field agent. "Keep me apprised on the progress here, and get the damn Lookers on finding what the hell caused it."

Silence fell over the group, broken only by the sound of the Amber cooling.

"Yes, sir."

*****

The ride back to the office was in stony silence, with Olivia and Lincoln glaring at each other from opposite sides of the van. Olivia stormed through the office without pausing, heading for the locker rooms. Lincoln followed.

Charlie put his hand on Frank's arm before he could follow them, shaking his head slowly. "You want nothing to do with that."

Frank watched the door to the locker room swing shut.

"Trust me, man," Charlie said, "it's like walking into a cat fight. Just let 'em get it out of their system."

"They do that often?"

Charlie shrugged. "It's not as bad now as when Liv first started working with us, but they still go at each other every now and then for old time's sake. The nice thing is Lincoln feels guilty about it and tries to make up for it by buying us lunch."

Frank laughed a little. "Alright, then. So we just wait out here?"

"Hell no, we take off. Wanna grab some beers and see what's on the Movie Channel?"

Frank made a face as he considered, still staring at the door to the locker room. "Eh. Why not?"

*****

Olivia clenched her hands as she crossed the locker room, listening to Lincoln's footsteps behind her.

When he finally spoke, Lincoln's voice was low. "What the hell was that?"

She stood in front of her locker, one hand braced against the smooth wooden door. "What?"

Lincoln moved close enough behind her that she could feel the warmth of his body. "Look, I know you like to think that you can do whatever the hell you want, but you need to remember who calls the shots."

She turned sharply and looked up at him from under her bangs. "Oh, yes, I bow to your authority."

"Taking risks like that in a quarantine situation is reckless. It's stupid Liv, and it'll get people killed. It'll get you killed."

"I'm not going to just go along with something when you're wrong."

Lincoln stepped into her space. "Yes, you are."

Olivia snarled, "Make me."

She was ready for him when he came at her, arms up to block his hands as he tried to grab her upper arms. She was not ready when he pushed against her, chest to chest, using his greater mass to shove her backwards. The impact against the wall drove the air from her chest. She chopped her arms down, hitting his wrists and breaking his hold on her.

Lincoln's face was inches from hers, hot breath hitting her lips. She could feel his body heat where he pressed against her. His fingers slipped over her wrist, slick with sweat. They blinked at each other for a moment before Lincoln pushed away from her and backed away.

"Holy shit, Liv, I'm sorry."

She shook her head and stared at him, eyes wide. She was shaking slightly.

Lincoln's eyes were wide, too, voice barely audible when he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Olivia pushed past him shoulder hitting his and spinning him as she went past.

Lincoln leaned against the wall of lockers and dug his fingers into his hair.

"Shit."

*****

Olivia slammed the door the apartment harder than she needed to and dropped her backpack and jacket on the floor just inside. She kicked both a little, pushing them under the hall table, then froze when she saw Charlie lounging on the couch with Frank.

Charlie glanced at Frank, then Olivia. "I should… go. Yeah."

"No, Charlie, you don't have to." She smiled at the look on his face. "Really. Stay. I'm fine."

"If you say so, kiddo."

She gestured towards the back of the apartment. "I'm gonna go change."

Frank glanced at Charlie who nodded towards her retreating form, then followed her.

Olivia was standing in front of the closet, head down, staring into it. Frank rubbed her back, then stood behind her rubbing her tense shoulders.

"Everything okay?"

She nodded and moved her hands to the hem of her shirt, waited until Frank pulled his hands away before she tugged her shirt off. "Yeah. Fine."

"Liv." He brushed her hair aside and rubbed circles in the muscles on either side of her neck, digging in when she pressed back into his hands.

"It's fine. It's nothing." She groaned and dropped her head forward when he hit a knot. She rolled her head back and Frank wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned and shrugged.

"Lincoln and I just… fought, that's all. About this afternoon."

She wouldn't quite meet his eyes. "Did you work things out?"

"Yeah. We're fine." She stepped around him to get a T-shirt out of the dresser. "So, what were you and Charlie watching?"

Frank frowned at her back. "Some gangster thing. I don't know. Liv…"

She had a forced smile on her face when she turned back to him, a stubborn set to her jaw. "I'm fine. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." He kissed her forehead.

*****

Charlie had his bare feet up on the coffee table when she and Frank returned to the living room.

Olivia pushed his feet to the floor. "Oh, so we don't kick you out and you turn into a slob?

Charlie put his feet back on the table and laced his fingers together behind his head, leaning back into the couch. "If you actually wanted me to leave, you should have said so."

"Your psychic powers on the fritz. You should…" She was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Frank moved to answer it, but Olivia waved him off. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

Lincoln grinned and held up boxes of pizza. His smile faltered when Olivia glared at him. "I uh… was in the neighborhood? You know. With pizza."

After a moment she laughed and stepped back. "You think you can buy your way back into my good graces with food?"

"There's historical precedence for this sort of thing."

"Whatever."

He met her eyes when he stepped inside the apartment. "I'm sorry."

She nodded. "Yeah. Me, too. I don't know why I did that."

Lincoln laughed, short and sharp. "Uh, yeah, that goes for me, too."

Lincoln set the boxes on the coffee table and dropped onto the couch next to Charlie. They both leaned forward and got pizza. "Sooo… are we watching anything specific?"

"No one wants to watch football, Lincoln," Olivia laughed.

"Oh, come on!"

Olivia grabbed a slice of pizza and sat next to Charlie, nudging the boxes aside to prop her feet on the coffee table next to his.

Frank came back from the kitchen. "Ah. So, no plates?"

The three agents just looked at him.

He shrugged and left the plates on the side table before getting his own food. "What, Lincoln hasn't stolen the remote and changed it to the Lions game?"

"See, some people understand what's on TV tonight. Brooklyn hadn't looked this good this early in the season in years."

Olivia elbowed Frank lightly. "He's just being polite."

*****

The game went into overtime, and Olivia was leaning against Charlie, legs draped over Frank's lap. Lincoln kept up a running commentary the entire game, adding more and more ridiculous, fictitious information about each player to keep them entertained.

"You're in the wrong line of work, Lincoln," Olivia muttered sleepily.

"Yeah, with those lies," Frank said, "you should have gone into politics."

Charlie patted Olivia's thigh. "Well, kiddos, time for me to head home."

Frank yawned. "Yeah, we should get to bed."

None of them moved.

Lincoln muted the newscast that came on after the game but stared at the aerial images of the ghost train. "It is kind of late."

Olivia closed her eyes and let the light flicker against her eyelids for a moment before turning her face into Charlie's shoulder.

"Uh. The couch pulls out." Frank offered. "I mean, if you wanna stay so you don't have to drive across town. If you want."

Charlie made a little sound like he was considering it, then tousled Liv's hair and stood up. "Come on, Chief, we've overstayed our welcome." He held out and hand and pulled Lincoln to his feet.

Olivia curled sideways on the couch, into the warm space they left.

Lincoln's eyes lingered over Olivia's form before he nodded and said, "Yeah. G'night."

 

*****

"Oh, my god, what's that smell?"

Lincoln sat the cardboard cupholder with four large cups on Olivia's desk.

"You better appreciate this, 'cause I nearly got mugged getting through security this morning."

"Where did you get this?" She popped the lid off of the cup and inhaled the warm, fragrant steam from the fresh coffee.

"I know a guy."

She reached out and curled her hand around Lincoln's wrist, then patted the back of his hand. "Thanks, boss."

He grinned. "You are welcome." He watched her over the rim of his cup. "Hey. We're okay, right."

She swallowed hard then nodded. "We're good."

"Is that coffee?"

Lincoln held out a cup for Frank. "Don't say I never got you anything nice."

"Holy crap, thanks. I can't remember the last time I had real coffee."

Charlie punched Lincoln's arm. "Perks of having a rich kid for a boss, right?"

Lincoln rubbed his arm. "Oh, abuse! This is the thanks I get?"

"You love it," Olivia said.

Lincoln grinned and held Olivia's eyes a moment too long.

Charlie grinned and stepped back before they were joined by Agent Farnsworth. "Sir, an ultra-low temperature freezer was purchased using a stolen credit account two days ago and delivered to an address in Westerleigh."

"Let's see it."

The screen switched to a map of Staten Island, then zoomed down, skirting around the Amber zones that littered the island.

"Hirsch Memorial Hospital was decommissioned in 1999 due to the deteriorating atmospheric conditions and its proximity to several no-go zones." Astrid looked up at the screen, still delivering her report. "It was used as transient housing in 2003 after a large-scale Breathable Air initiative stabilized conditions there, but the project was abandoned six months later. It's been unused since."

"How are conditions there now?" Charlie asked.

Astrid said, "Well within tolerable ranges on all factors."

Lincoln looked at his team and nodded. "Let's go have a look, shall we?"

*****

The building was a sprawling, three-story complex that spread in three wings off of a central hall. The gate hung open, sunlight glinting off the recently cut chain. The brick driveway was buckled and overgrown with weeds. A trail of broken plants led away from the front of the building.

The lower windows were broken out, dark holes gaping on the ruined interior. A halfhearted attempt to board them over had been made, but the boards were rotting away. The upper floors fared better - most of the grimy glass was intact. Vines trailed up the stained bricks, withering to skinny brown fingers in the heat.

"Christ, could you get any creepier?" Charlie asked.

"If I was a mad scientist this is totally where I'd set up shop," Olivia snarked. She rubbed at her forehead where her bangs were already sticking to her damp skin.

"This place is huge," Lincoln said.

Frank looked around, frowning at the Amber domes. "What happened here?"

Charlie said, "There was a series of micro collapses in the late 90's. The entire island was declared a loss after about four months of trying to stabilize it."

Olivia nodded. "The collapses stopped on their own a couple months after that, but there wasn't much left outside of the Amber by then. A few groups tried to find usable space, but all this Amber makes people nervous. It was declared No-Go a few years back."

"Okay, let's have a look around." Lincoln nodded towards Olivia. "You and Charlie follow the track. Frank, you're with me."

"Shouldn't we call for backup or something?" Frank looked up from the floorplan he was studying on his Pad.

Lincoln shaded his eyes and looked up at the building. "Where's the fun in that."

*****

The tire tracks led to a parking lot at the back of one wing of the building. It was overgrown, weeds and small trees pushing up between the bricks, buckling the surface. A pile of wilting branches was heaped at one side, near a freshly cleared path through the overgrowth to a rusty metal door. The latch on the door glinted in the sunlight.

"Someone's upgraded the security."

Olivia fished the lock picks from her back pocket and raised an eyebrow at Charlie. "Not nearly enough."

The door swung easily on its hinges and the smell of oil filled the air, overriding the smell of dust and damp bricks. Cool air flowed over them. Olivia leaned through the door and looked down into the darkness.

The stairs were steep, twisting back on themselves halfway down. The risers were rusty but hard scruffs scraped through to shiny metal below. There were marks on the walls and railings, too.

"Someone moved something big through here."

Charlie had his gun out and was peering down the hallway. He tapped his ear cuff. "Boss, we found where they're taking equipment in." After a moment he shook his head at Olivia.

She shrugged and gestured down the stairs.

Charlie tapped his cuff again and whispered, "The Amber must be interfering with the signal."

"Let's just have a look. Then we can fall back and wait for backup."

 

*****

 

The wide concrete steps were littered with dead leaves and rubble. Broken glass glittered. Frank nudged the splintered door with his foot and looked inside. The floorboards of the lobby were cracked in gaping lines, covered in places with debris from the upper floors. Pools of sunlight streamed though the ruined structure.

"Hrm."

Lincoln stepped close and looked over his shoulder. "Yikes. Okay, you go first, I'll be right behind you."

Heat from Lincoln's body felt nearly blistering against Frank's back. He smelled like sweat and dryer sheets. Frank made a face at the rubble. "Oh, no. Thanks. I think I'll defer to your vast experience in this situation."

Lincoln glared as he stepped around Frank. He tested a board and it gave way easily, cracking under the pressure of his foot. He kicked the splintered wood into the gap and listened to it clatter into the space below.

Frank retreated a few steps and looked along the side of the building. "Maybe there's another way in?"

"The windows are set pretty high. I don't think we'll be able to reach any of them. There's probably another door on the side."

Frank followed Lincoln back down the stairs, happy to let him take the lead. He fell into step behind him, watching the side of the building for any way in. They stepped around the corner in the shade and Frank blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted.

*****

The trail of scuffmarks followed each branch of the hallway, both directions looking equally likely. Olivia followed Charlie's lead down the east branch, frowning when they came to a similar intersection down the hall.

"What," Charlie asked, "they couldn't figure out which room they wanted to use and tried all of them?"

"Or they knew they were leaving an obvious trail and didn't want to make it easy to follow.

Charlie pointed at her. "Right in one."

Olivia looked back towards the light filtering down the stairwell, then looked down one of the hallways. "Let's check each end of this, then head back."

"Liv…"

"There isn't anyone there. It won't hurt to look."

"End of the hall. Do not go past that."

She nodded. "You're the boss."

A few dried leaves crunched under Olivia's feet as she walked down the hallway. Halfway along its length, she looked over her shoulder at Charlie, checking his position. The rooms off the hall were empty, neglected like the rest of the building. Scuffed paths marked each room.

Olivia turned the corner and froze for a moment.

*****

The figure at the other end of the hall turned just as Olivia ducked into one of the side rooms. He caught the movement and shouted in alarm. Olivia swore under her breath, and drew her gun. Footsteps echoed along the hall, and she slipped into another room, circling behind him. Her footsteps were light as she crossed behind him and brought the butt of her gun down on the back oh his neck.

Olivia knelt over the guard, cuffing his hands behind his back and taking his gun. She lifted her head sharply at the sound of muddled shouting from Charlie's direction.

"Shit," she muttered.

The hallway was empty when she peeked out of the room and she retraced her steps, heading down the hallway that Charlie had taken, keeping close to the wall. She paused at the corner, before taking a quick look, then stepping into another empty hallway. She swept by each room, checking them quickly before continuing. At the end of the hall, stairs led down again, plunging further into darkness. Olivia looked over her shoulder, back towards the entrance before quietly going down the stairs.

When she reached the landing she could hear soft voices from the other end of the hall. She advanced slowly, gun trained on the doorway. She swallowed hard when she stepped into the room and was confronted with a makeshift laboratory and several armed men, one of whom had an arm wrapped around Charlie's throat, gun to his head.

"Ah ah, that's far enough." An unarmed man looked up from one of the workbenches. He had closely cropped blond hair, glasses that the low light gleamed off of, hiding his eyes. The resemblance to the photo of Darren Conrad was still apparent.

Olivia met Charlie's eyes. He shook his head just slightly, but she lowered her gun anyway.

"Excellent." He smiled cheerfully. "It's good to see that at least one of you can be reasonable."

One of the guards pushed her arm the rest of the way towards the ground and pulled the gun out of her hand, then took the other from her waistband. The patdown he gave her was quick, but thorough, finding the backup gun at her ankle and the knife in her boot.

"What do you want?" she asked, voice steady.

"I'm a bit of a perfectionist, Agent… ?"

Olivia glared.

The bodyguard glanced at her badge. "Dunham."

"Agent Dunham. Wonderful. I'm Dr. Adam Conrad. Very pleased to make your acquaintance. The four of you have become test subjects. Quite exceptional ones, and I don't intend to miss this opportunity."

"Test subjects for what?"

"A remarkable breakthrough in human advancement, assisted by generic engineering, of course."

"We weren't infected with whatever killed your other victims."

He scoffed and took a syringe from a case. "Of course not. A little birdie told me that you were exposed to samples of the bacteria that we'd left behind. You didn't get the secondary bacteriophage virus that the other subjects did. That's what makes you remarkable. And useful."

He advanced on Charlie.

Charlie tensed and fought.

"I will shoot your knees out if you keep that up. I need you alive, that's all."

Charlie went still.

"That's what I was doing wrong all along." He motioned to the guard and the tilted Charlie's head back, holding him still while Conrad sank the needed into his neck. "I left a surprise for you at the garage. I had no idea it would pay off so well." He smiled as he approached Olivia.

Olivia hissed as the needle sank into her neck.

"Phages are remarkable things, really. Such clever little delivery systems. I'm sure the phages will have no trouble delivering its payload since the infection should be systemic by now." He shook his head. "So simple. I was just being impatient."

"We aren't infected with anything," she snarled.

He patted her cheek. "Just because you got better, doesn't mean that the bacteria isn't in your system." He turned to the guards. "Cuff these two over there and find the other ones. I have a meeting with Hicks."

The guard pushed Olivia towards a metal beam that ran from floor to ceiling, pulling her arms behind her and cuffing them around the beam. She sank to the floor, dizzy and shaken. They cuffed Charlie to a similar beam across the room.

The guards flicked off the light as they went, leaving the pair in darkness.

*****

Lincoln and Frank followed the wall, skirting piles of rubble until they reached a crumbling loading dock. The wide garage doors were boarded over, and the metal door next to them was rusted and listing on its hinges. It swung open reluctantly when they both pulled at it.

"Doesn't look like anyone's used this in ages."

"Yeah." Lincoln stepped cautiously into the hallway. "At least this isn't all rotted away. It seems pretty stable."

Frank peered around him. The hallway opened into a largish room after a few yards, then branched away into the building. They looked around and shrugged, before heading into one of the halls.

They moved as quietly as possible, testing the floor in front of them carefully before putting their weight on it. The wind whistled through the building, rattling piles of dead leaves and peeled paint. The creaking of the floorboards behind them barely registered.

Frank turned, flinching back at the blur of movement. Lincoln slumped to the ground before the warning shout let his throat, dropped by a blow to the back of his head. The attacker leapt over Lincoln's body and closed on Frank.

Frank dodged out of the way of the first swing, the sleek black club whiffing by his head. He moved close, stepping into the second swing, driving a fist into the attacker's exposed side. He was drawing his fist back for another blow when he was grabbed from behind, arms pulled viscously behind his back. The second man pushed him to his knees and cuffed his wrists.

"Fuck." The first was holding a hand to his ribs, wincing.

"Come on. Time for that later."

"Whatever. Fuck you." The first man pulled a syringe from his pocket and uncapped it, kneeling over Lincoln's limp form.

"What is that?" Frank asked.

"Shut up."

Frank tried to twist away as man approached him. The blow the guard delivered to the back of his head made the room spin and he dropped limply between them. He barely stirred at the needle sinking into his neck.

"Chain them up with the others until Conrad gets back."

A crash at the door made the men swing around, reaching for guns as the SWAT team poured in. Frank slumped to the ground even as gunshots rang out.

*****

Olivia's fingers shifted restlessly over the pillar behind her, searching for any weakness she could exploit, slowed by shivers that shook her entire body. She'd pushed herself up, leaning against the pillar and she slowly circled, trying to make out the contours of the room in the darkness. She looked towards Charlie's direction, listening to the ragged sound of his breathing.

"Charlie?"

She let her head thump back against the pillar and clenched her eyes shut, then jerked forward at the sound of gunfire. She pulled savagely at the cuffs. Her eyes went wide at the sound of footsteps running towards the door. She sagged in relief when the SWAT team burst through.

One of the agents circled behind her and worked at the cuffs. Olivia slumped to the ground when she was free.

"Agent Dunham?"

One of the SWAT team crouched in front of her.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head and immediately regretted it.

"Stay there, medical is on their way. We'll get you to a hospital."

She nodded very slowly, carefully and tried to ignore the panic that was threatening. "He dosed us with something."

Someone in a white medical suit crouched beside the SWAT agent. "We're getting samples from the needles. We'll figure out what it is. There's nothing to worry about."

She laughed. "Do you know how often I've said that knowing it's a complete lie?"

The medical agent met her eyes through the clear-carbon face shield.

"How did you know something was wrong?"

"Colonel Broyles sent us. Your Looker found something on Conrad. Ties to a terrorist organization. When none of you responded…"

"… Astrid figured out we'd walked into a trap. Right."

Olivia shivered hard and hugged her arms around her body. "'S worse than last time."

Two stretchers clattered into the room.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here."

*****

Olivia pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, wincing as it snagged on the bandage at the crook of her elbow. She shivered violently every few minutes. Her head snapped up at the sound of the door opening, then her eyes narrowed at Dr. Fayette.

"Agent Dunham. How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. What the hell did he do to us?"

"It seems to be some kind of virus. If you'll come with me?"

Olivia swayed when she stood. She kept the blanket around her shoulders. "Where are we going?"

"All of you have shown some difficulty breathing. We're going to do a pulmonary function test to see why."

Frank and Lincoln were in the lab already. Frank was leaning against a desk, arms crossed over his chest. Lincoln was pacing restlessly.

Olivia leaned in to Frank's side.

"Agent Francis, I'll need you to come with me. We need to get a bone marrow sample.

Charlie swallowed hard. "Bone marrow…"

Frank stepped forward. "What the hell do you need bone marrow for?"

Olivia pressed against Charlie's side, warm and solid. "Why him?"

Fayette's eyes shifted between them. "Agent Francis' blood work contained some peculiarities that were absent from the rest of you, most likely related to the arachnids. We'd like to try to isolate the antibodies that are causing this."

Lincoln stepped between them. "No."

"I'm not exactly asking permission, Agent Lee."

"Good, because you're not getting it. You've done enough tests on all of us."

"It's important that we…"

"Bullshit." Lincoln snarled and stepped closer to Brandon. "We are not guinea pigs or lab experiments or test subjects. You've already said we aren't contagious, why the hell can't we leave?"

"Agent Lee, this isn't a request. If you don't comply with orders I'll have to call security."

"Security? You'd run your fucking tests on us at gunpoint, wouldn't you?"

"If it comes to that."

Lincoln growled and lunged at him. "You leave us the fuck alone."

Olivia grabbed at Lincoln's arm, trying to pull him back, but he slipped out of her grasp, muscle and bone shifting under her fingers. The growl changed to a confused whine as he dropped to the ground, hunched over. His skin rippled as thick fur erupted over it.

Charlie and Frank were shouting, Brandon was babbling and screaming for security. Olivia dropped to the floor, face even with Lincoln's, eyes wide as his face stretched, reshaping itself into a long muzzle. His eyes changed from blue to yellow in the space of a blink.

The door flung open and armed guards flooded in. Lincoln barked in alarm. Behind the guards, Brandon's voice was shrill. "Sedate it."

Charlie met the lead guard's eyes and shook his head. "Not letting you get to him."

The guard hesitated. "Agent Francis…"

"Hurry up!"

Lincoln growled and Olivia said, "Shut up, Lincoln."

"He's not dangerous," Frank said. "Look, we just need to talk with one of the doctors. Whoever's in charge." He pointed over the guards shoulder. "Not him!"

"Just back out the door and call Colonel Broyles. Elijah, you know me. You've known me for years. Just please trust me on this. Call Broyles."

The guards glanced at each other then nodded.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fayette's voice was shrill.

The turned towards Brandon, pushing him from the room. "Call the Secretary."

*****

Lincoln growled at the closed door.

Olivia retreated a little, kneeling behind him. He turned and looked at her, yipping and growling. After a moment he shook his head and whined.

Charlie came closer and squatted down in front of him. "You in there, boss."

Lincoln bobbed his head up and down, the movement awkward. He took a couple steps forward, stumbling a little, and looked down at his front paws. His legs slid out from under him and he panted.

He was big and dark, covered in long black fur brindled with orange. The brindle pattern changed to large spots over his sides, black centers surrounded with a ring of orange and white. His yellow eyes clashed with the orange fur on his face and muzzle.

Charlie's voice was quiet. "How the fuck did you do that?"

Lincoln whined again and Olivia tentatively ran her hand over the fur on his shoulder. It was coarse, longer over his shoulders and down his spine. His big, cupped ears swiveled towards her and he pushed his wet nose into her hand.

"This actually makes a lot of sense," Frank said.

Charlie looked at Frank. "This does?"

"Well, yeah. It's what he was trying to do, I think. Conrad, I mean. This is what he was testing. This is why were so many weird antigens in our blood. It was changing us."

Lincoln whined and curled his tongue over the tip of his nose. He licked Olivia's fingers.

"Are you saying he's gonna stay like this?" Olivia asked.

Charlie frowned. "Is this going to happen to all of us?"

"I don't know. Probably."

Lincoln shuffled closer, keeping his belly on the ground and Olivia stroked the shaggy hair on his neck absently.

"Do you know… I mean, can you tell how it happened?" Frank asked, eyes intent on Lincoln's.

Lincoln tilted his head to the side for a moment, then swung his head back and forth.

Olivia said, "It happened when he got angry."

"Like the Incredible Hulk," Charlie added, "but a dog."

"He looks more like a wolf," Frank said.

"Wolves aren't spotted like that." Olivia ran her hands over his sides, tracing the patterns in his fur.

Lincoln's big, cupped ears swiveled towards the door.

The door opened and guards filed in, not exactly training their weapons on them, but they weren't lowered either, Olivia saw. Lincoln stood and growled before he could stop himself. Behind them was Secretary Bishop followed by Brandon. The Secretary regarded them for a moment.

"Remarkable. Everyone out. Now." He gestured to Olivia before she could voice her protest. "Not you. I'd like the… four of you to stay so we can discuss the situation."

"Mr. Secretary, I don't think that's a good idea," Brandon said.

Bishop smiled, not taking his eyes off of Lincoln. "I'm sure I'm in no danger." He gestured absently and the guards left, pushing Brandon ahead of them.

Bishop approached them, and if he felt any fear, he hid it well. Olivia tightened her fingers in Lincoln's fur, one arm circling him protectively.

"A remarkable development, wouldn't you say?"

"What are you going to do to us?" she asked.

The man was silent for a moment, appraising. He nodded slowly. "There's the question. Brandon believes you should be studied, taken apart to see what makes you tick, as it were." He held up a hand to silence their protest. "The problem with that approach is that we might not be able to put you back together, and I believe that would be disadvantageous. You are exemplary agents. I see no reason why you won't continue to be so."

Olivia looked at Charlie, then back at Bishop.

"There are caveats, of course. You'll not be terribly effective if your transformation is a one-way trip, but I don't believe it is."

Lincoln tilted his head at Bishop and whined.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out in due time, Agent Lee."

There was noise from the hallway, muffled shouting, then the door opened. The Secretary didn't turn. "Ah, Phillip. Excellent timing, as always."

"Why the hell are my agents being… held…"

He stared until Lincoln made a little yowling noise.

"What the hell is this?"

"It seems the contagion your agents were exposed to is even more extraordinary than we thought."

Broyles looked from Lincoln to Olivia. "What happened."

She glanced at the Secretary, then said, "They wanted to do more tests on Charlie. Lincoln tried to stop them." He whined and leaned against her. "Then. Um."

Broyles crouched and leveled his eyes with Lincoln's. "Captain Lee?"

Lincoln yipped at him.

Broyles looked at Olivia. "Can you do this?"

"I don't know."

"The genetic changes are similar in all of you," Bishop said. "Dr. Stanton's reaction was far more complicated, due the heavy dose of anti-virals that he's on, but yes, I believe that all of you possess this ability now."

Broyles shook his head. "An infection did this?"

"Uh, it was a little more complicated, if I've worked it out right," Frank said. "When we were initially infected, it was with a bacteria that went systemic. It must have integrated itself so closely into our bodies that our immune system stopped fighting it. It became part of us. The bacteriophage went after the infection, which was everywhere at that point, and started delivering its payload." He looked up at Bishop. "Close so far?"

"Excellent, Dr. Stanton, do go on."

"The payload must have rewritten our existing DNA that's homologous between humans and canines. There's a remarkable amount of similarity there. It wouldn't be enough for… this." He gestured towards Lincoln. "It had to have assembled artificial chromosomes that were capable of replication." He blinked. "We're not human anymore."

He shook his head, then continued. "Anyway, the changed DNA interacts with the new chromosomes, switching them on, giving us access to the new traits. It's…"

"Brilliant," said Bishop.

"I'll take your word for it," Broyles said. He sounded unconvinced.

"I'd like you to remain here, temporarily of course, until we have a better understanding of your new… abilities." Secretary Bishop turned to Broyles. "If you're agreeable to this, of course."

"That… is probably best."

"Sir," Olivia said, shaking her head.

"Temporarily. Until we have a better handle on the situation."

"No more tests."

Broyles nodded. "Agreed."

She looked up at Charlie, then Frank, waiting for each of them to nod, before she turned back to Broyles. "Yes, sir."


	3. Not the Skin Which Contains Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alt-team become werewolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Id-fic, pure and simple. I wanted the alt-team as werewolves, so, here you go. Thanks to [](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**chichuri**](http://chichuri.dreamwidth.org/) for encouragement and brainstorming, especially regarding the science, and [](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/profile)[](http://kerithwyn.dreamwidth.org/)**kerithwyn** for beta reading.

Frank sighed in exasperation and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't get it."

Lincoln waved his hands around. "You just let it happen."

Frank stared over Lincoln's shoulder and tried very hard to ignore that he was naked. "Nothing's happening. Could you please put your pants back on?"

Lincoln looked down at himself, then back up at Frank. "They'll just fall off again when I change."

"Lincoln."

"It's not like I'm humping your leg or anything."

"God."

"Look, it's easy," Lincoln said. "You just have to like, be the dog or something."

Frank shook his head. "You are the least helpful person on the planet."

Lincoln shrugged.

Frank looked across the room to where Charlie and Olivia were playing tug-of-war with the remains of Lincoln's sweatpants. Their teeth were bared over mouthfuls of the material, growling softly at each other. Every few seconds one of them shook their head violently, trying to dislodge the other.

Olivia was sleek, her gray and white fur lying close to her body. Her white mask and muzzle was split by a dark gray stripe that ran between her eyes. Mottled gray and white spots covered her shoulders and flanks, touched with only hints of orange. Despite the growling, her tail was wagging happily, the white tip waving back and forth.

Charlie was taller than she was, shaggy tannish-orange and black fur making him seem even larger. Black spots covered his belly and legs. His auburn eyes were nearly orange, striking against the black fur of his face.

Frank narrowed his eyes. "You haven't actually thought about humping anyone's leg, have you?"

"What? No! No, that was a joke." Lincoln scratched at the back of his head and refused to meet Frank's eyes.

"Oh my god."

"Well, I haven't done it." Lincoln pulled his boxers back on. "There. Better?"

"No, not even remotely."

Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest and stared across the room. After a moment he said, "I don't know how to describe it!"

"Maybe I can't."

Lincoln leaned against the wall and frowned. "Why wouldn't you be able to? We were all infected with the same thing."

"You heard what they said about the anti-virals that I was on, how they changed my response. Maybe whatever happened to you didn't happen to me."

Lincoln shook his head. "It's just taking you a while to figure it out. It's only been a couple days. You should hang out with Charlie. He's better at explaining things than I am."

Olivia trotted over and dropped the soggy sweatpants at Lincoln's feet.

*****

Olivia pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants and slipped out of her room. The concrete floor was cold under her bare feet and she rocked back onto her heels while she waited for Frank to open his door. He blinked at her, sleepy and confused, wearing just a pair of boxers, hair falling over his eyes. She smiled and let her eyes roam downward for a moment.

"Come on."

"Liv?"

She took his hand and pulled him out into the hallway.

"I'm not dressed."

"Doesn't matter."

"Liv, I appreciate what all of you are trying to do, but I think we just have to acknowledge that it's not going to happen."

She shook her head and tightened her fingers around his. "No."

Olivia keyed in the code that opened the door and they stepped out of the building into the little grove of trees. It was still dark and quiet, the sound of the wind moving through the leaves and the water slapping against the high stone wall on this side of the island the only sounds. The lights of the city sparkled across the water. Liv pulled him along after her.

"You're trying too hard, and Lincoln isn't helping anything."

Frank just shrugged at that.

She pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss, deepening it when he smiled against her mouth.

"That's supposed to help me?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, probably not." She kissed him again and rocked back on her heels.

"You have to not think about it, like flying."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. " _Hitchhiker's Guide_?"

"Yes." She grinned. "I'm serious, it's exactly like that."

"So I need to… throw myself at becoming a werewolf? And miss?"

"You need to relax and stop trying to force yourself to change. It's… it's like breathing." She knelt on the grass and pulled him down in front of her. "Close your eyes."

Frank did.

"Listen."

"To what?"

"Everything. Hear how everything is sharper."

He nodded slowly.

"Smell the grass and the water."

Frank nodded again, taking a breath and scenting the air.

"Want more of that."

He opened one eye. "Huh?"

"Your senses are better after you change. That's how I do it. I try to get to the other set of senses and it's like a switch. When I hit a certain threshold, it just happens."

"Okay, that sort of makes sense." Frank sat back on his heels and closed his eyes again, swaying a little as he frowned in concentration, then said, "I don't think this…"

Olivia leaned forward and put her fingers against his lips. "Shhh. Stop thinking." Olivia tilted her head, watching him closely. The minutes ticked by slowly as the line of his shoulders relaxed. Olivia smiled as his lips parted and his breathing deepened. She sniffed the air just before Frank's eyes went wide and he scrambled backwards, flowing from one form to another.

His fur was thick and shaggy, dun colored with large reddish spots that lightened to pale cream on his legs and belly. A dark stripe swept from the middle of his back to the tip of his tail, matched by a stripe down the center of his nose. His eyes were bright blue. He laid belly to the grass, panting heavily.

He pushed himself up and retched, then shook his head.

"The first time is the worst," Olivia said. "I still feel a little sick when it happens, but it's not so bad anymore."

He whined and took unsteady steps towards her. When he got close, she smoothed her hands over his head, then hugged him close to her. She dug her fingers into the thick fur over the back of his neck, then laughed as he wiggled closer and pushed his cold nose against her neck.

She stood and pulled her clothing off, and the movement spread her scent through the air like a wave. It changed when she did, the musk of her skin deepening, overlaid with the warm smell of her fur. Frank circled her, sniffing, learning, until she nipped his shoulder.

It wasn't a sharp bite, more pressure than anything, a suggestion to pay attention. The cant of her ears, the angle of her tail, even the slight fluff to the fur along her shoulders communicated her intentions, and he circled her once more, bouncing on his front legs, steady now. She jumped when their heads were even again, resting her forelegs on his shoulders, mouth open in a playful growl. When she sprang away and tore across the lawn, he was ready, following her.

They raced through the little area of trees, weaving easily between them. When they reached the open lawn, Olivia tackled him, rolling them on the grass. They played until the sun was just starting to rise over the Brooklyn skyline.

When they headed back to the building, lured by the smells of breakfast, Charlie was standing next to the door. He grinned down at Frank. "About time, man."

Frank made a little huffing sound, and shoved his head under Charlie's hand. He wagged his tail when Charlie started scratching the crown of his head. Olivia flopped down on the cool cement next to them, panting contentedly.

*****

The Fringe agents had claimed a conference room near the medical facility as their living space, rearranging the furniture to accommodate a couch they liberated from one of the offices upstairs. They were currently pacing restlessly around the small space, glaring at Dr. Fayette.

Fayette backed towards the door. "I understand your frustration, but we don't have all the answers."

Olivia snarled, "You don't have _any_ answers."

"You ran the tests on us over a week ago," Frank said. "You have to be able to tell us something."

Fayette's eyes flicked between them. "The data is inconclusive."

Charlie's voice was flat. "He can. Just won't."

Lincoln bared his teeth and took a step forward just as the door opened. Agent Farnsworth entered, cast a brief glance towards Fayette, then addressed the Fringe agents.

"Excuse me, Captain Lee. Colonel Broyles has tasked me with assisting you by interfacing between your team and your doctors."

Fayette's voice was shrill. "No one told me about this."

Her voice was even when she said, "Colonel Broyles and Secretary Bishop felt it might alleviate certain tensions."

Lincoln laughed a little. "Thank you, Astrid. It's much appreciated."

Her eyes darted to Fayette, then back to Lincoln. "It might be best if we were to meet alone, and I will go over your questions with Dr. Fayette later?"

Lincoln grinned broadly. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

Olivia escorted Fayette to the door, then leaned on it when he was gone.

"Jackass," she muttered. She grinned at Astrid and said, "Thanks for rescuing us."

The younger agent murmured, "You are welcome. Colonel Broyles indicated that you were having a difficult time with the Department of Defense medical staff."

Charlie said, "Just that one."

Astrid darted her eyes up to Charlie's before looking back down at her Pad, then said, "I have been reviewing your medical data and cross-referencing possible side effects of your… condition with studies of canine social structure and physiology, including the predominate genetic contributors of _Canis lupus_ and _Lycaon pictus_. I believe that this will be helpful with your adjustment to any change in behavior and demeanor you might be experiencing.

Olivia smirked. "You mean like why Lincoln keeps sniffing people's asses?"

Lincoln spread his hands and looked outraged. "I have not sniffed anyone's ass!"

Astrid's eyes widened, then a little smile flickered across her face. "Yes, exactly like that."

Charlie pulled a serious face and asked, "Is it sexual harassment when a werewolf sniffs someone's ass?"

"I haven't sniffed anyone's ass." Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest.

Frank blinked. "You sniffed _my_ ass."

"Really?" Liv asked, eyebrows arching up. "That's kind of hot."

Astrid giggled.

"You guys are dicks," Lincoln said.

Charlie smiled and nodded at Astrid. "Ignore them. What do you have for us?"

"I'm assuming that your pack structure is aligning itself in a similar manner to that of your working relationship. Wolf packs are not as rigidly structured as many people believe, but they do tend towards a hierarchical structure." Astrid looked at them curiously. "Is Lincoln your alpha?"

Lincoln said, "Yes," at the same time Olivia said, "No."

Charlie and Frank laughed.

Lincoln spread his hands. "Oh, what the hell?"

Olivia frowned. "Well, you're not."

"I outrank you. I'm your boss."

Olivia opened her mouth, then paused. She snapped her mouth shut with a little click of teeth and frowned.

Astrid said, "The lines of your hierarchy might not be terribly distinct, or the two of you might be an alpha pair that share the responsibility." She looked at Frank, then back to Olivia and Lincoln. "Pairs are usually mated, though. Captive packs are frequently polyamorous due to stressors of enforced socialization and limited territory."

Lincoln looked vaguely panicky. He gestured between himself and Olivia. "We're not…"

"Polyamorous?" Olivia frowned.

Astrid nodded. "It wouldn't be too surprising. Your team had an unusually close working relationship even before this."

They were quiet, all of them looking anywhere but each other's eyes. Astrid cleared her throat and continued. "It's also likely that you're experiencing physical differences as well. Have you noticed any changes in your senses, such as a heightened sense of smell?"

They nodded, and Frank said, "It's more than just heightened, really. We're getting more information from what we can smell."

"Like emotions," Charlie continued. "I guess it really is true that dogs can smell fear."

"Our hearing's better, too," Olivia said.

"Much," Lincoln agreed. "And it's like Frank said, we're hearing more - higher frequencies, maybe."

"I feel like I'm faster." Olivia bounced on her toes. "Stronger, too, maybe."

"Tests indicate that you do have muscle mass has increased," Astrid said, "and the oxidative phosphorylation appears to be more efficient now."

"More potential energy," Frank elaborated. "We don't fatigue as quickly."

"We sound different, too," Olivia added. "I mean, we can."

Astrid looked up, frowning slightly. Olivia growled and Astrid's eyes widened.

"I think we're missing the obvious one," Lincoln said. "We can change into freaking wolves."

"There's that," Charlie said, dryly.

Astrid nodded. "The Secretary is concerned about your ability to control your metamorphosis."

They glanced around at each other. Olivia said, "We're getting better at it. We're not going to have to change during a new moon, are we?"

Astrid shook her head. "That is just superstition. The phases of the moon have no quantifiable influence on our physiology. Even yours."

"Well, that's good."

"As Agent Lee demonstrated, I believe that extreme stress might make you change involuntarily, but I think that will be unlikely once you've fully adapted." Astrid looked at Olivia. "Agent Dunham, another thing to be aware of is that you're probably going to develop a more canine estrous cycle, probably that overlays your human cycle. I would expect this to occur in winter, roughly when a wolf's estrous would, as that seems to be the primary contributor to your introduced genetic material."

Olivia sputtered. "I'm… _what_?"

Lincoln started laughing hysterically.

She pointed at him. "Shut up." She turned on Astrid. "You did not just tell me that I'm going to go _into heat_."

Astrid pursed her lips. "I said it was likely."

Olivia shook her head. "No."

"You probably don't get much of a say in it, Liv," Charlie said.

"Uh. Just out of curiosity, how does that work," Frank asked, frowning in concentration. "I mean, all of it. Are we still biologically viable?"

"I do not have much data on that, but the consensus is no, at least not with the general human population. Among each other, the likelihood seems low as well."

Liv looked lost for a moment, then jutted her chin out against the emotions flickering over her face. "At least I won't have puppies."

"If you were to become pregnant, it would be imperative that you do not shift. The metamorphosis would almost certainly trigger a miscarriage."

Liv nodded and leaned into the light touch of Frank's hand on her back.

Astrid swallowed and said, "I'm sorry, Agent Dunham."

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Wasn't planning on it anyway. With what we do, it just didn't seem like a good idea. And what happened to Rachel, I just…"

Astrid nodded.

Lincoln cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, you would have had adorable puppies."

Olivia rolled her eyes, but the small smile on her face was grateful.

*****

Lincoln rolled out of bed and stretched. He tilted his head, listening to the quiet, early morning sounds of Liberty Island. After a moment, he pushed his boxers off and kicked them away before letting himself slip out of his human form.

He lowered his head, gagging a little before he shook himself, fluffing up and straightening his fur. His claws clicked as he crossed the room, scraped against the metal of the door when he stood on his back legs to reach the handle on the door.

The guard at the end of the hall glanced up at him as he trotted towards the door.

"Morning, Agent Lee."

Lincoln yelped a nonsensical greeting and waited for the guard to key in the code on the door.

In the cafeteria beyond, the others were eating breakfast. Lincoln propped his chin on the table, eyed Olivia's oatmeal and whined.

Olivia said, "This is a people-table."

Lincoln shuffled closer to her and tried to lick her spoon.

"Ug. Lincoln, stop, that's disgusting."

Charlie shook his head and said, "You are having way too much fun with this, you know that, right?"

Frank narrowed his eyes at Lincoln. "Do you think it says something about him that he's taking this whole thing so well?"

Lincoln put his paws on the table and stuck his face into Olivia's bowl.

"Goddamn it, Lincoln."

He licked oatmeal off his muzzle and let his tongue loll out of his mouth in a grin.

*****

Olivia picked her way over the rocks at the edge of the water. Little waves lapped over her paws, soaking through her fur and cooling her skin. The rocks were covered in slimy algae, hard to walk on, and her claws slid against the wet stone. Behind her, Lincoln and Frank were yapping amicably, voices rising into short calls to her and Charlie. She scrambled over the rocks, over the short wall and trotted along the paved path that ran the circumference of the island.

Charlie was loping across the lawn, and she veered off the path to join him. She bounced on her front paws, jumping against him. He reared up, bracing his legs on her shoulders. She twisted under him, knocking him to the ground and they tumbled over the warm grass. She was chewing playfully on one of his ears when Lincoln and Frank joined them.

They had run earlier, chasing each other from one end of the island to the other, weaving between trees and building. The guards stationed around the island mostly ignored them now, but sometimes when they raced past one of them, Olivia caught the scent of envy or fear. Sometimes both. All she could smell now was the scent of the others, sun-warmed fur and contentment. They sprawled on the grass, heads resting on flanks, paws tangled together. She wiggled, rolling onto her back, and sighed in contentment as the sun heated the thin, pale fur on her stomach. She twisted on the grass, looking towards the building when she caught the scent of the Secretary as he approached.

Lincoln stood and shook himself off, and the rest of them followed. The trotted across the grass, single-file behind Lincoln to meet Dr. Bishop.

He looked over them, authority radiating from him. Liv curled her tongue up over the tip of her nose nervously. Lincoln held the Secretary's gaze, ears forwards and tail straight.

After a moment the man nodded, satisfied and said, "Very good. Join me in my office, if you would." The faintest smile flickered over his face. "After you've changed into something more appropriate, of course."

Lincoln barked and they watched him retreat.

*****

"Agent Lee, the Secretary and the others are waiting inside." Bishop's assistant glanced at Olivia. "If the rest of you will have a seat and wait here."

Lincoln frowned. "What others? I thought he wanted to see all of us."

"Dr. Carville from the CDC arrived early. He's in with the Secretary and Colonel Broyles."

Lincoln looked over at the others, and Charlie nodded. "Why they pay you the big bucks, right?"

Lincoln snorted. "Right."

*****

Olivia stared at the heavy doors to the Secretary's office. They'd been waiting on the sleek leather couch in the outer office for over an hour. She leaned a little closer to Frank, and he whined softly and pressed his face to her neck.

Charlie's voice rumbled beside her, low and familiar. "It'll be okay."

"So you think they're just arguing over us?"

"Something like that. Probably trying to get Frank to be able to stay here with us. Colonel Broyles is on our side on this."

"Maybe he shouldn't be." Frank's voice was dejected. "Maybe I should just go back to the CDC."

Olivia stared at the floor.

"You don't mean that, man," Charlie said softly.

Frank shrugged and pulled away from Olivia, sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"It is my job, you know."

Charlie was quiet for a moment. "Do you really want to go back?"

"No. Maybe." Frank sighed. "I just wish… someone had asked what I wanted."

Olivia's voice was sad. "No one asked any of us if we wanted this."

"I don't see any of you losing your jobs."

"Hey," Charlie said softly. "If you don't want to do this, just say so."

Frank dropped his head farther down and rubbed his hands over the back of his neck. "I do. I guess. I don't know."

Charlie pushed Frank's hands out of the way and closed his hand over Frank's neck. Olivia leaned into his side.

"It'll be okay," Charlie said. "We'll figure something out."

The door to the Secretary's office opened and Lincoln stuck his head out. The scent of frustration and anger wafted out of the room. "Hey. C'mere."

They rose and crossed the room, each of them brushing close to Lincoln when they walked past him. They stood together, bunched tight as they waited for Secretary Bishop to speak.

"We believe it's in the best interests of all involved that Dr. Stanton remain with Fringe Division." The Secretary held up his hand before Frank could protest. "I acknowledge and respect your professional importance with the CDC, Dr. Stanton, and during times of extreme need, you will of course be allowed - no, encouraged - to assist with an outbreak. As a man of science, I also will make sure that you have access to our science facilities for any research you wish to pursue. You will, however, be subject to the same regulations as any Fringe agent — that is not open for discussion."

"Dr. Carville, if you'll excuse us? We will be in touch soon regarding transferring Dr. Stanton's employment status and security clearance to the Department of Defense."

"Colonel Broyles, I trust overseeing Dr. Stanton's integration into Fringe Division will not be an issue?"

Broyles closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "We'll work something out with Quantico for retraining, both to get Dr. Stanton up to speed and to make sure the four of you can work in the field. Until I'm satisfied that you're capable, you're off field duty."

Lincoln frowned. "We don't need to go through any more training. The Secretary already did that."

"With all due respect, The Secretary isn't responsible for supervising field agents. Putting the obvious aside, all of you have been through significant trauma. I'm not willing to put any agents into the field unless I'm certain of their ability."

"Our ability hasn't changed."

Broyles drew himself up to his full height and advanced on them, staring them down. Olivia swallowed and backed up, running into Charlie in her haste to put distance between herself and her now very agitated commander. Lincoln stood his ground.

"This is not going to fly, Agent Lee, and if you are not able to remember who is in charge around here, I'll find someone to lead your team who can. You are off field duty until I see fit to reinstate you. Do I make myself clear?"

Lincoln clenched his hands into fists, nails biting into his palms before he forced himself to relax. He nodded, dropping his head a little. Behind him Olivia whined, and the scent of confusion rolled off of all of them. "Yes. Yes, sir. Perfectly."

"Good."

The Secretary smiled. "Excellent! Keep me apprised of your progress."

*****

They followed Broyles into the lobby of the Secretary's office and flinched a little when he turned abruptly. His voice was soft when he said, "Go home. Get some rest."

"Sir?" Lincoln's voice was soft but steady.

He turned back.

"What happened to Conrad?"

Broyles shook his head. "He went to ground. The Lookers tracked him and we were close to capturing him again when he seems to have been caught in a class three vortex event. We lost him."

Liv's eyebrows arched up. "A vortex?"

Brolyes said, "He seems to have headed right in to it. He was there before the Amber Protocol was deployed. The Lookers are still cataloging the contents of the Amber. We're not even sure if he survived."

Lincoln's eyes narrowed. "If he did, do you think he'll come after us?"

"The Lookers are giving it pretty good odds, so keep sharp."

"Sir," Charlie asked, "when can we go back to work?"

"We'll brief Dr. Biehl on the situation and schedule your psych evals as soon as possible." He held up a hand at the face Olivia made. "Not a point of negotiation."

She jutted her jaw out, but nodded after a moment. Broyles continued, "Dr. Stanton will need to complete the standard entry review. All of you will need to pass firearms recertification. Your… condition is also being given a high level of classification - we'll need to develop procedures to minimize the number of people who are aware of what you are."

Lincoln nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I have some things to discuss with the Secretary. A helicopter's waiting to take you across and there are cars waiting to take you home."

The flight to Manhatan was quick. Olivia looked at the cars waiting to take them home. None of them made a move towards the cars. She leaned against Charlie. "So what is this? Some kind of separation anxiety?"

"We're probably still just… you know, getting used to things?" Lincoln sounded uncertain. "We've been together a lot lately."

"Just come back to the apartment with us," Olivia offered.

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "You can crash there tonight."

Lincoln frowned a little and looked between Olivia and Frank. "You're okay with that?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "You don't have to, though. If you want."

Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets. "Maybe we should get used to being apart. We can always go into work together tomorrow and bug Broyles."

Lincoln nodded. "We can start working on our recertification then. Go to the firing range. Jump through whatever other hoops they want. We need to get Frank set up with a workstation, too."

Olivia looked at Frank, then nodded. "Okay. That'll work."

Charlie hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "You okay?"

She nodded and kissed his cheek, then kissed Lincoln's. She grinned when Charlie hugged Frank, too. Lincoln pressed his lips against her ear. "Do I have to do that?"

Olivia laughed and pushed Lincoln towards Frank. "Yes."

*****

Frank's arms ached from hours at the firing range. Charlie raised an eyebrow at the tight cluster of shots on the target.

"You're a doctor. Isn't it a little hypocritical for you to be good at killing people?"

Frank shrugged and glanced at the silent DoD agent that had been shadowing them all day, taking notes. "I got my undergrad at Annapolis before I joined the Medical Corps. Besides, after the group of CDC workers got attacked by mutant bears in Midland, all CDC agents get tactical training."

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "How'd you wind up in medical?"

"My dad's in the Navy Med Corps. I sort of figured I'd wind up as a ship's doctor, but I was on a training run on a destroyer when there was a yellow fever outbreak. I got into clinical research after that."

Charlie's eyes widened. "You were on the Dougan?"

Frank's nod was short and he kept his eyes on the gun, ejecting the magazine, loading a new one. After a moment he nodded again. "Yeah."

Charlie stepped close and out his hand on Frank's shoulder, squeezing gently.

Frank sighed and leaned back into his touch. After a moment he frowned. "This should be weird, shouldn't it?"

Charlie laughed and slapped his hand down on Frank's shoulder. "I think we get to reset the definition of weird."

Frank turned towards him then frowned. "Okay, that guy is creeping me out."

Charlie looked over his shoulder at the DoD agent.

"I bet Liv's already killed the guy that's following her."

*****

Olivia tilted her head at Lincoln and whined. She was slobbering all over the gun she held in her mouth.

"Yeah, okay, so that wouldn't work." Lincoln took the gun from her and made a face at it. "Gross, Liv."

She shifted back. "I told you that was a bad idea."

Lincoln made the same face at her and tried very hard to not let his eyes wander below her neck. "Okay, well, we either have to stay shifted or, I don't know… carry little doggy backpacks or something."

"We could take turns," Frank said. "One human to one dog, that way we always have someone with a gun who can talk."

"Like the buddy system." Charlie smirked. "For werewolves."

Olivia pulled her t-shirt and sweats back on and said, "That's probably how we should do it."

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah. That could work." Lincoln turned sharply towards the door, just before there was a knock at the door. Charlie lifted his head and his nostrils flared, then he shrugged.

"Come in," Lincoln called.

The door opened to admit a man in a blue NYPD uniform. His silver hair was cropped close to his head and his eyes were pale brown. As he crossed the room, the scent of dogs drifted through the air around him.

"Ah. Agent Lee?"

"Yeah, you must be Sergeant Andras."

"Yes, sir." His smile was broad as he assessed the agents. "I understand that Fringe Division is thinking about adding a K9 unit?"

"Uh… yeah." Lincoln nodded. "Something like that. We'd just like to get an idea about how you operate in the field. You know, for research."

"Well, there are a couple different roles that our K9 partners fill." He handed Lincoln some glossy e-paper pamphlets. A German shepherd leapt to the side of his human partner on the front. Lincoln passed them to the others.

"Our officers use their dogs to help chase and hold suspects. They're also extremely protective of their humans, so the dogs are a sort of backup." He leaned back and drummed his fingers lightly on his leg. "Our search and rescue teams use their dogs to help find targets."

Olivia looked up from the little presentation playing on the inside of the pamphlet. "The dogs are wearing vests?"

"Yes, ma'am. Our dogs wear the same body armor that our humans do, tailored, of course, to fit them. We also have little shoes for them if they're going to be working in dangerous terrain, like the search dogs frequently do. Keeps their feet from getting cut on broken glass or debris. We also have modified air canisters for them in case of environmental compromise."

"Huh," Lincoln said. "That's a good idea. We should do… ow."

Olivia drew her foot back and smiled at Andras. "We'll keep that in mind if we do decide to add to our team."

"Can the dogs detect Fringe events?" Frank asked.

Andras nodded. "Yes, although we don't have any units specifically trained to do so. It's purely anecdotal evidence, but all of the handlers know it happens. The dogs know rifts are forming before we can see them, they know air quality is going to drop. Not sure what it is, but they're aware of it."

They looked up, and Lincoln tilted his head to the side, just slightly. "We'll keep that in mind.

*****

Olivia yawned as she closed the door to the apartment. Behind her, Charlie yawned, too.

"Stop that," he said.

She tossed her backpack to the floor just inside the door. "Bored. Aren't you bored? I'm tired of training." She looked up at Lincoln who was sitting on the couch, pulling his boots off. "Seriously, how much longer do we have to do this training? And the shrink? I'm sick of talking to the shrink."

"It's only been a week. So, I'm thinking… longer than a week."

She crossed the room to hug Frank, who was toweling off his still-damp hair. He lowered his head when she approached.

"Check this out."

She frowned, sniffed cautiously, then buried her nose in his hair. "You don't smell like rotting fruit!"

"I know, right. It's hypoallergenic stuff. It still kind of smells a little, but not like the stuff we had from before. There were a couple different brands, but I just got this one."

Charlie sniffed the air, then smiled. "Good find, man." He dropped on the couch next to Lincoln and kicked his foot.

Lincoln glared at Charlie, then said, "Yeah, that… Actually, that is a really good idea."

Olivia kissed Frank's nose. "Smart."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"So what's the plan tonight, kids," Charlie asked.

Frank wandered into the kitchen. "Could probably whip something up if we don't wanna go out."

"We could just order in," Lincoln suggested.

"Could try that new French place over on Essex," Charlie said.

Olivia followed Frank into the kitchen. She rested her chin on his shoulder and peered into the fridge with him.

"Sandwiches," she asked.

"Maybe."

From the living room, Lincoln called, "Let's order pizza."

"That's all you ever eat," Olivia said. "How do you stay so skinny?"

"Magic."

Frank closed the fridge and walked back towards the living room. Olivia followed, arms still around his waist.

Lincoln glared. "Jesus, will you two give it a rest?"

Frank tried to step away, but Olivia tightened her arms around him and glared back at Lincoln. She growled softly.

Lincoln closed on them. He grabbed Frank's shoulder, pushing him away from Olivia.

Olivia snarled and lunged at Lincoln, hands scrabbling along his arms and knocking him back. He twisted out of her grip and got his arms up between them. Olivia darted forward again, hands on Lincoln's chest, shoving him until his back thumped against the wall. The low sound of their growls filled the room.

"That's enough," Charlie said.

"What the hell, Olivia," Lincoln snapped.

"Stay the fuck away from him."

"Guys, stop," Frank said softly.

"Leave." Olivia shoved Lincoln towards the door.

"Liv, just…"

"Shut up, Lincoln."

Charlie pulled on his arm. "Come on, man.

*****

"Hey."

Lincoln walked away from the apartment, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Hey!" Charlie grabbed his shoulder and turned him, and Lincoln snarled.

Charlie threw his hands up. "Whoa, man."

Lincoln panted and stared at him. He swallowed hard and shook his head slowly.

"You okay?" Charlie asked.

"Um." Lincoln's laugh was shaky. "I don't know. Jesus, what the fuck just happened?"

Charlie chuckled. "You got too close to something that belongs to Liv."

Lincoln grimaced, lips drawing back to bare his teeth. After a moment, confusion washed over his face.

"Look, let's go grab something to eat and go back to my place and hang out."

Lincoln whined. "You're going to make me talk about this, aren't you?"

Charlie grinned and clapped a hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "No, but I am going to make you pay for dinner."

*****

Frank's hand shook as he held a glass under the water cooler. The stream sputtered as bubbles rose to the top of the container. When the glass was full, Frank walked further into the kitchen. He leaned his head against the cabinet over the sink, staring down into the drain. He tensed when Olivia came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

He snorted out a little laugh that wanted to dissolve into tears. "I have no idea."

"I mean… he didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Frank sniffed at the water, wincing at the faint chemical smell of the disinfectants that was more noticeable now. "Did you hurt him?"

She leaned against the counter next to him, tilting her head so she could see the side of his face. She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Not as badly as I wanted to."

"Where are they?"

"Charlie said they were going to Lincoln's place for the night. He said he'd call tomorrow and maybe see about all of us ditching training and…"

"I don't think this is going to work."

"Frank…"

"I can't work with you, with all of you, it isn't what I know how to do, Liv. I can't do this."

She rested the tips of her fingers on the back of his hand. "That's why we're training."

"I don't think any amount of training is going to let me and Lincoln work together."

"If you don't want to work with us I'm sure you could go back to the CDC. We can get Broyles to…"

"That's not what I meant."

Her voice was soft when she asked, "What did you mean?"

"I should just… go."

She whined softly. "Go where?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." He raked his fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his face. "I just can't be here. I don't belong here."

"Frank, that's not true. If this is about me and Lincoln, we fought with each other before and it never bothered you. That hasn't changed." She cupped his cheek and tried to get him to look at her. He shook off her hand.

"You and Lincoln would just be happier if I wasn't around. I should just leave."

"Lincoln doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"Of course he does. I know you have feelings for him. And someone would have to be dead to miss that he's in love with you."

"That's not what I want. I'm not in love with Lincoln." She watched the skeptical look on his face. "I'm not."

"Olivia…"

She turned him towards her and buried her face in his neck, breathing in the scents of her and Charlie and Lincoln that were layered over the sharp musk of Frank's skin. She tightened her arms. "Please don't leave me."

Frank lowered his head and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead on hers and mumbled into her hair, "Liv…"

She nipped his skin sharply and said, "You can't leave because you're mine."

Frank jerked his head up, eyes going dark. His tongue darted out to lick his upper lip.

"You're mine."

He nodded slowly then whined when she bit his neck again.

"You're not leaving." She shook her head. "You're not." She stretched up and kissed him. He held himself still under her, then slowly relaxed, smiling under the pressure of her mouth on his. She nipped at his lower lip, then pulled away sharply, eyes wide.

Frank reached out and cupped her cheek. "What's wrong?"

"I'm as bad as Lincoln, aren't I?"

He shook his head. "Liv."

"I'm being just as awful to you as he is."

"I don't… I don't really mind what he's doing. It feels sort of… right? I just don't like that the two of you are always fighting." He smiled and rolled his hips against hers. "I definitely don't mind what you're doing."

Her eyes narrowed and she murmured, "You're trying to distract me."

"Is it working?"

"Frank." She nuzzled his face and sighed. "We can't just keep ignoring this."

"I know. It's not just you and me, though; it's all of us. We've been so focused on training and figuring out how things work, well, at work, that we haven't done anything else. Not that we're here, we don't know what to do."

She leaned against him, arms around his waist, head resting against his shoulder. She tilted her face down, rubbing her nose against the fabric of his shirt, then bit where his neck joined his shoulder, hard.

"Ow."

"Don't scare me like that again."

*****

Charlie's apartment was small and well-furnished, tucked into a corner of an old building. The coffee table in front of them was littered with empty take out containers. Lincoln kept darting wary glances at Charlie.

"You're seriously not even going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

Lincoln picked at the label on his beer with his thumb. "I get it. You're just going to not say anything and let me start talking on my own. You always do that. It isn't going to work."

Charlie hummed, a neutral sound that rumbled in his chest.

Lincoln peeled the label off and wadded it up into a ball. He tossed the ball into one of the empty containers.

"Okay, so it might work."

Charlie raised an eyebrow and took a drink of his beer.

"Dammit, stop that."

"Haven't done a thing."

"Yes, I _know_." Lincoln set his beer bottle on the table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I seriously feel like I'm losing my mind here. I can't stand seeing them together. How did that happen? I mean, yeah, okay, I've considered the possibilities that would be available if they _weren't_ together, but I'd never do anything about it. I mean, I _haven't_ done anything. I kissed her that one time, but I didn't even know she was seeing anyone. I've been supportive and stuff, right?"

Lincoln nodded in answer to his own question. He reached for the beer bottle and rocked it back and forth between his hands.

"I like Frank, too, you know? He's a good guy; he's good to Liv. I don't want to be a dick to him."

Charlie watched him, then asked, "You sure this has anything to do with Frank?"

Lincoln looked up, startled. "What?"

"Are you actually jealous of Frank, or are you jealous of Liv?"

"I'm not… _what_?" Lincoln looked a little panicky.

"You and Liv both think you're in charge. You've _always_ both thought you were in charge. I think it's just something you could ignore better before."

"I am in charge," Lincoln said, stubbornly. He frowned and looked thoughtful, then flopped back onto the couch. He rolled his head to the side and looked at Charlie. "I'm not in charge, am I?"

"I think that's something you'll need to figure out with Liv."

Lincoln sighed. "I guess you're right."

Charlie laughed. "Of course, I am."

Lincoln punched Charlie's thigh. They sat in silence and watched the news flicker on the TV.

"Am I a terrible boss?"

Charlie frowned. "No.

"But Liv would be better."

Charlie laughed. "No." He turned on the couch so he was facing Lincoln. "That's not true at all, Lincoln. Liv has her qualities, and she's great in a crisis, but we need you to lead us. She knows that. You guys have just got to work out this dominance thing you have going on."

Lincoln shook his head and snorted. "Easier said."

"It'll happen. Sort of has to."

"Yeah." Lincoln smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime, boss." Charlie rose and scooped up the empty boxes, carrying them to the trash in the kitchen. "You crashing here?"

Lincoln shook his head. "No. I just. I need. Space. Okay? I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

Charlie wiped his hands on his jeans and followed Lincoln to the door. "Lincoln…"

"I'm fine. I just need to think."

"If you're sure."

When Lincoln looked up, his eyes were bright. "Yeah." He put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Thanks."

Charlie stepped close and wrapped Lincoln in a hug. Lincoln's eyes went wide and he tried to pull away, then he relaxed.

"Weird."

"Yes. Yes, you are."

Lincoln nipped his shoulder before turning to leave.

*****

Frank nuzzled the back of Olivia's neck. The room was still dark, blinds drawn against the faint light of dawn. Olivia grumbled something in her sleep.

"Hey," Frank whispered.

He tried again after a few minutes. "Liv."

"'S'early," she muttered.

"Liv, we need to talk."

She groaned, and rolled onto her back so she could look up at him. "Now?"

"Liv."

She sighed and wiggled closer to him. "This is about Lincoln."

"This is about all of us, I think."

She caught her lip between her teeth and watched him. He brushed her bangs back from her forehead, then rested his hand on her chest, running his thumb over her collarbone. "We need to talk with them," Frank said. "With Lincoln and Charlie both. You and Lincoln need to…"

"There is no me and Lincoln." She rolled away from him and sat on the edge of the bed.

Frank sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Look, I'm gonna go to the gym or something."

She turned sharply and her eyes were worried.

Frank held his hands out to her. "Just for a while." He rounded the bed and bent to kiss her. "I'll be back in a while, okay?"

She nodded, and the corner of her mouth turned up in a little smile. "Yeah, get out of here."

*****

Olivia ran the shower long past the little timer on the wall started chirping. She pulled on sweatpants and one of Frank t-shirts when she was dry. She hesitated at the bathroom door and sniffed the air. Charlie's warm scent reached her; Frank's was cooling and Lincoln's long cold.

Charlie was stretched out on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. "Hey, kiddo."

"When did you get here?"

"Not too long ago. I ran into Frank on his way out."

She nodded.

"Feeling better?"

She toyed with a rip at the knee of her sweatpants, then sighed and crossed the room. She tucked herself against Charlie's side. "This is so fucked up."

He pushed her damp hair aside and rubbed her back.

"I just… How am I supposed to pick between them?"

"Who says you have to? Liv, this doesn't have to be a zero sum situation if you don't want it to be."

Olivia pressed her face against his neck. "Does that go for you, too?"

Charlie stilled, then tightened his arms around her.

"Livvy, I've got three ex-wives and no desire to wreck another relationship any time soon." He put his fingers against her lips to cut off her response and she licked his fingers. "I love you like my sister. Hell, I love you more than my sister. You guys are my family, and that hasn't changed." He thought for a moment. "You know, really nothing has changed."

She laughed. "I'm sorry, have you not been paying attention for the last few weeks? How can you say that nothing's changed?"

"No, listen. How did you feel about me before all this happened?"

"You're a giant pain in my ass."

"Liv."

She rested her head on his chest. "You're my brother."

"And now?"

"You're my pain in the ass brother."

"And you still love Frank?"

"Yeah."

"And Lincoln." It wasn't a question.

She nodded, just barely moving her head against his chest.

"Everything's still the same, it's all just closer to the surface. More intense."

She shook her head. "I can't deal with more intense."

"We'll get used to it."

"Or we'll kill each other."

He tucked his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up and smiled at her. "We'll be fine."

*****

Olivia looked up when the door opened, but didn't move from Charlie's side. She met Frank's eyes briefly before laying her head back on Charlie's chest. Frank dropped his keys on to the hall table and pushed the door closed with his foot. He stood by the door for a moment, shifting the bags of groceries to keep from dropping them.

"I got stuff to make breakfast."

Charlie nodded. "You need any help?"

"Um. Yeah, sure."

Charlie untangled himself from Olivia, kissing the top of her head.

The apartment was filled with the smell of food by the time Lincoln arrived. Olivia hadn't moved from the couch. She didn't move when the door opened again. The quiet chatter from the kitchen died.

Lincoln stood in front of her, legs blocking her view of the TV. After a moment he crouched so his eyes were level with her. The smell of sweat and aching muscles didn't hide the frustration.

"I'm sorry."

Olivia pushed herself up and sat with her legs crossed under her. Charlie and Frank stood near the kitchen door. Frank crossed his arms over his chest when Lincoln looked at him.

"I was out of line, Frank, and I'm sorry."

Lincoln's hands balled into fists when no one said anything. Olivia sighed, then reached forward and held his hands. Frank crossed the room and dropped to the floor next to Lincoln.

"It's okay."

Lincoln shook his head. "No, it isn't. None of this gives me any right to get between the two of you. We're not…" He shook his head again. "We're still human."

Charlie sat on the coffee table behind Lincoln and put a hand on his back.

Frank snorted softly. "Not so sure about that anymore."

Lincoln frowned at him and Frank pulled back. "Don't bite me," Frank said.

"What? I'm not going to…" Lincoln's eyes were wide. He tilted his head to the side. "Oh, my god, did Liv _bite_ you?" He pulled the collar of Frank's shirt down and rubbed his thumb over the faint bruise.

She snapped, "I didn't mean to."

"I don't mind," Frank said.

"I think this is probably a pretty good example of 'things we need to figure out' don't ya think," Charlie asked.

They all slowly nodded.

"We're mostly okay when we're training," Charlie said. "What's different about being home?"

Liv looked down and toyed with the cuff of her sweatpants.

Frank said, "I think we all have a little better idea of what we're supposed to be doing there. How things work."

"It was just easier when there wasn't all of this." She waved her hand around, indicating the apartment, the city. "It's so noisy here."

"We could see if we can go back to Liberty Island," Frank suggested. "Just until we figure things out."

She wrinkled her nose. "No. That little weasel will try to stick needles in us again." She thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe we should call Dr. Biehl?"

"Thought you hated talking to her," Charlie said, smiling.

"Better than this. But I suppose she wouldn't let us stay in her office until we figured things out."

"We could go to the cabin," Lincoln offered.

Frank looked up. "What cabin?"

"My family has a cabin in the Allegheny forest, inside the green zone. My brother and I are the only ones who ever use it, and he's overseas. We could go there."

Frank's eyes were a little wide. "Christ. Exactly how rich is your family?"

Lincoln laughed and scratched at the back of his head. "Um. Very."

*****

Frank tossed his bag in the back of Lincoln's SUV and tried to block out the sound of Lincoln and Olivia bickering. He leaned around the side of the SUV and looked at Charlie who was leaning against the driver's door.

"Are they gonna be like this the whole way?"

"Nah, they'll tire themselves out after a while and sleep most of the way."

"Shotgun," Olivia said.

"Whatever," Lincoln replied, "I get shotgun."

"I called it."

"Children sit in back," Charlie said. "Frank rides up front with me."

Lincoln and Olivia whined together, "Awwww!"

"You want me to drive?" Frank asked.

"Nah, I'm good. I figure we'll get out of the city and stop for breakfast somewhere. Maybe have you take over then?"

Frank nodded. "Sure."

Lincoln climbed into the backset. "We should stop in Dubois, before we get to the gateway, get some groceries and stuff."

Frank turned in his seat. "How long is the drive?"

"Five hours to Dubois," Lincoln said. "Then another couple hours to get to the cabin, depending on the roads."

Charlie said, "It hasn't rained recently, so they shouldn't be bad."

"You've been before?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, we go fishing sometimes."

Frank turned and looked at Liv.

"Nope." She shook her hear. "I was led to believe that no girls were allowed."

"That's 'cause you have cooties," Lincoln grinned.

Liv rolled her eyes and kicked the back of Frank's seat.

*****

The border of the greenzone was guarded by rangers in dark uniforms. Their dogs whined and growled, barring their teeth until their handlers took them inside. The rangers swept the car, then the people, and they passed through the gateway smelling faintly of sanitizer.

The trees thickened and the road narrowed as they drove farther into the forest. They turned off of the paved road onto a dirt track that took a meandering path through the trees, changing direction abruptly for no apparent reason. They rolled the windows down and the scent of pine trees and dry forest floor filled the SUV.

"Okay," Lincoln said, "I completely get why dogs like to stick their heads out car windows."

Liv arched an eyebrow at him. "You gonna do that?"

Lincoln grinned and stuck his tongue out at her.

The SUV rolled to a stop in front of the little clapboard house. Behind it the trees thinned, and sunlight glinted off of still water.

"Huh." Frank looked at the house.

"What?"

"It's just not what I was expecting when you said cabin."

Lincoln looked over his shoulder. He was unlocking the front door. "Yeah, it's just a house."

Frank stretched and rolled his shoulders, stiff from the long drive.

Lincoln held the door open, then followed the others inside. "So, uh, living room. Kitchen's back there," he pointed. "Couple bedrooms and the bathroom down the hallway. And there's a bed up in the loft, too. It's the biggest one in the house, so you and Frank can have it."

Charlie carried bags into the kitchen and helped Frank put the groceries away. "There's a dock out back. The lake's clean enough to swim in."

Frank peered out the window. "Wow."

Olivia bumped her hip into his. "We can go skinny dipping.

Frank grinned.

Lincoln leaned against the doorway to the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest. "See, this is why you don't get invited. You'll get cooties in the lake."

She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm gonna take our stuff upstairs."

Lincoln turned as she passed. "Sheets and blankets are in containers under the bed.

Olivia opened the windows that circled the loft and drew in a deep breath. The air was cooling now that the sun was down, and the smells of the forest were strong on the light breeze. She pulled a few sheets out of the plastic storage bins under the bed and shook them out.

Lincoln knocked on the edge of the railing of the stairs. "This gonna be okay for you guys?"

"Yeah. This is good." She tossed the blankets on the bed. "This is really nice. It's so quiet here."

He nodded.

"Thanks for giving us the big room."

He gave her a crooked little smile. "Sure. I'm gonna go see what Charlie's up to. You good?"

"Yeah, Lincoln, I'm fine."

*****

The back door of the house opened on to a stone patio. Through the trees at the edge of the grassy meadow, Olivia could see Frank and Lincoln standing on the dock that jutted into the lake. Charlie was crouched in front of a fire pit, holding a match to kindling.

"Cold?"

"Nah, it's just nice, you know?"

Olivia nodded and sat on a bench at the edge of the patio, watched the little flames lick through the fuel as Charlie carefully added more wood. She glanced out towards the lake.

"Hope Lincoln doesn't throw him in."

Charlie turned and grinned at her, light from the fire making his eyes glitter. "Pretty sure Frank can hold his own against Lincoln when he wants to."

She nodded and stretched her feet closer to the fire. "Yeah, I know."

Charlie sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

The fire crackled, and her eyes widened a bit. She pulled her feet back. "Uh. Weird."

Charlie stared at the fire for a moment before saying, "Huh."

She snuggled into Charlie's side and tilted her face up at him. "So we're afraid of fire now?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's not like I'm afraid, exactly, but there something else there suggesting that I might want to be."

Olivia nodded and sighed. "It's sort of like something else is in my head." She watched the fire for a while then said, "I guess something sort of is." She could hear Lincoln and Frank's footsteps on the dock, hear them path from the lake. "I guess no one can sneak up on us now."

Charlie kissed her temple. "There you go. Look for the positives."

She was still laughing when Frank and Lincoln walked up to the patio. The look of jealousy on Lincoln's face was open.

"You two look cozy."

"Stop it, Lincoln."

He clenched his fists and glared at her.

Frank elbowed Lincoln. "At least it's not just me."

Olivia extended her hand to Lincoln. "Come here."

He sat on the bench next to Charlie, then curled into the space at Charlie's side. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Olivia caught Frank's eye across the room and smiled, and he sat on the floor in front of the fire, pressing himself against her and Charlie's legs. She threaded her fingers into his hair.

"I feel like we should have a shrink here or something," Lincoln said.

Frank looked up at Lincoln. "We could probably find one that specializes in families and pets."

"Funny."

Olivia nudged Lincoln's foot with hers. "You do make a pretty good pet."

He rolled his eyes at her.

Charlie's voice rumbled softly. "I think we sort of need to talk about… well, the three of you. How are we going to make this work?"

They were quiet for long moments, until Olivia said softly, "I think we should probably all lay out how we feel about each other. I don't think trying to hide things is working."

Frank turned so he was facing them others, and rubbed a little circle on Liv's hip with his thumb. "I'm not really sure we can hide things anymore. You do love Lincoln. I can smell the lie when you say you don't."

Olivia sighed and dropped her head. "Fucking werewolves."

He rested his chin on her knee. "I don't mind. Not really."

Olivia lifted her eyes to his. Frank reached up and cupped her face, stroking his thumb along her cheekbone. "I know you love me. That you love Lincoln too doesn't change that."

Lincoln's eyes were wide. "You love me?"

Olivia smiled and shook her head. "Of course I do."

Frank laughed. "How did you not know that?"

Charlie rose to put more wood on the fire. He crouched next to the fire pit and watched as Lincoln edged into the space he'd vacated until he was pressed close to Liv, his legs stretched out along Frank's side. Charlie grinned.

"The three of you think you can behave yourselves?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, you're part of this, too."

"Liv…"

"No. That's how it works. All of us together."

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to work."

"I don't give a shit how it's _supposed_ to work. This is how it will work for us. Astrid said that captive packs behave differently, that they…" She trailed off, cheeks flushing. "I'm not going to choose between you." She lifted her eyes to Charlie's and said, "Any of you."

Charlie chuckled, "Baby steps, Liv." She whined and Charlie walked over to her and kissed her forehead. One of his hands brushed Frank's head, the other Lincoln's shoulder. "This is complicated enough. Let's get the three of you settled and then we'll figure out where I fit."

He looked across the little meadow into the trees, where the shadows were beginning to deepen as the sun set. His grin was wide when he turned back to them. "I think I'll go for a run."

*****

Liv stared into the woods, eyes tracking Charlie until he disappeared into the trees. Frank turned and leaned back against her legs. Liv combed her fingers through his hair.

"So, um." Lincoln stopped and stared at the side of Liv's face. "Liv?"

She smiled, then turned towards him. "Yeah."

"Did Charlie just run off into the woods so we could have a threesome?"

Frank started laughing and Liv grinned. "Yeah, I think so," she said.

"Oh." He chewed on his lower lip for a moment then said, "This wasn't what I was thinking when I suggested we come up here."

Frank tilted his head back. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"No. I mean, yes." Lincoln pushed himself off the bench and paced away from them. "I just don't see how it's going to help anything."

"Lincoln, I'm pretty sure he wasn't suggesting that we fuck each other and everything would magically be better."

Frank chuckled. "Wouldn't hurt to try?"

Liv cuffed him gently and he leaned into her hand.

Lincoln stared. "You're really okay with that?"

Frank shrugged. "Sure."

Lincoln frowned in concentration. "Were you okay with that before?"

"Huh." Frank tilted his head. "Yeah, I guess so. It's not something that I thought about, but I don't think I would have been opposed to the idea. I don't think we're really all that different now. I mean, there's the whole turning into wolves thing, but our personalities haven't changed. Charlie's still reasonable, you're still a dork, and Liv's still… well, head bitch in charge."

She laughed. "I like the sound of that."

Frank grinned up at her. "Thought you might."

"Okay," Lincoln paced back towards them, "that's part of the problem, right?"

Liv nodded slowly. "You mean at work."

"I mean in general. Everywhere. I don't want to fight with you, but I can't help it if you keep pushing."

"I don't push," she snapped.

Frank cleared his throat softly. "Uh, Liv…"

"What?" She tightened her fingers in his hair.

He growled softly until she loosened her grip. She jutted her chin out, then licked her lips, nodding. "Okay. I can maybe be a little pushy."

Lincoln laughed, the tense lines of his shoulders relaxing. "A little."

She smiled up at him, looking out from under her bangs. "Maybe."

Lincoln dropped to the ground, sitting with his legs folded under him. "Okay, so what do we do about it?"

"Maybe you both need some boundaries," Frank suggested. "Like, Liv, you need to acknowledge that Lincoln is, in fact, your boss."

"I'm not going to just go along with whatever he suggests."

"That's not what I want. I need you to call me out when I'm wrong. That's why our team works so well. I just need to know that you'll actually listen when I make a decision about something. I need to know that you still have my back."

Her eyes went wide. "Of course I do." She pushed herself off the bench and sank to her knees in front of him and curled her hands around his wrists. "Lincoln. I do."

He nodded. "I feel like… like you're looking for an excuse to take over."

Liv shook her head sharply. "I do not want your job."

"I know. It's just hard to remember now."

Liv swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, for me, too. I won't do that anymore."

Lincoln raised an eyebrow at her and smiled wryly.

"Okay," she licked her lips and smiled. "I'll try not to do that anymore. Just call me on it if I'm out of line."

"Like you'll listen."

"I will!"

Lincoln's smile faded and he stared at the ground. "I also think that maybe outside of work, that I wouldn't mind if you… I mean, I could…"

Frank grinned. "You really should. It feels awesome." They both looked at him and he shrugged. "It's probably an endorphin response, something about my brain reinforcing the pack hierarchy."

Lincoln's eyes were wide. "That's a little creepy."

"I'm not complaining. Besides, it's not so overwhelming that I can't counter it or anything."

"You're okay with that," Liv asked. She rubbed her thumbs across the insides of Lincoln's wrists.

"I don't know." Lincoln dropped his eyes again. "I think so. I guess we'll just have to see if it works."

Olivia leaned forward and brushed her lips across his. "It'll work."

"Liv." Lincoln's eyes darted to Frank, who was sitting very still, like he didn't want to startle them. Lincoln's eyes went back to Olivia, her mouth, then her eyes. The smile spread slowly over his face before he tangled his fingers in her hair and kissed her.

*****

Olivia stretched and burrowed into the warm tangle of arms and sheets. And fur. She smiled and pushed her face into the scruffy shoulder in front of her and sniffed until she identified it as Charlie. She scratched her fingers along his side and he sighed in his sleep. She rolled over, facing the edge of the bed and drowsed until movement behind her shook her awake. When she turned over, Charlie was sprawled on his back and Frank and Lincoln were both scratching at his belly. Charlie's legs waved in the air as he wiggled.

Olivia laughed and Charlie flipped himself over abruptly and barked. Olivia reached over and scratched behind his ears. Charlie's auburn eyes closed slowly in pleasure.

"Have a nice run last night?"

Charlie made a sound low in his throat, a soft affirmative whuff of sound. He nosed at the collar of the thin t-shirt she wore. Olivia ducked her head and rubbed her face against his.

Lincoln stretched, then propped his head up on one hand. "So, uh, we think we got things sort of figured out."

Charlie turned his head towards Lincoln, eyebrows twitching, mouth open in a wolfish grin.

"Shut up."

Charlie lunged at him, knocking Lincoln onto his back and swiping his long, wet tongue across Lincoln's face.

"Oh my God!" Lincoln flailed and pushed at Charlie's chest until he jumped off the bed. He crossed to the stairs and looked over his shoulder at them.

Olivia grinned and pulled her t-shirt off, and the bed moved as Frank and Lincoln both stood to push off their boxers. The coppery tang that accompanied their change filled the air as they blurred from one form to another.

Olivia hopped down from the bed, claws slipping on the slick wood floor. They clambered down the stairs, Frank and Charlie chasing each other in circles while Olivia and Lincoln worked at the doorknob, teeth sliding against the surface until Liv caught it just right and got the door open.

Lincoln darted out the door, and Olivia followed, catching him at the edge of the patio and tumbling them over into the grass. She snapped playfully at him, and he held his mouth open in a mock snarl, growling happily. Frank flopped onto his side next to them. Lincoln twisted out from under Olivia and pinned Frank, teeth closing lightly on Frank's throat. Frank whined and swished his tail back and forth slowly.

From the edge of the clearing, Charlie howled, the sound stark and joyful in the stillness of the morning. The others scrambled to their feet and answered, heads thrown back and voices rising to join his. They trotted to join Charlie, and at the edge of the trees, Lincoln ducked his head under Olivia's, tongue curled over the tip of his nose. She nuzzled the side of his jaw, then twitched her ears forward. She headed into the trees, the white tip of her tail waving like a flag, and her pack followed.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Out of My Skin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/414639) by [kerithwyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerithwyn/pseuds/kerithwyn)
  * [To Serve (Werewolves)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/998760) by [kerithwyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerithwyn/pseuds/kerithwyn)




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